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BISHOP   SIMPSON    IN   MIDDLE   LIFE. 


THE    LIFE 


OF 


BISHOP  MATTHEW  SIMPSON 


OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


BY 


GEORGE  R.  CROOKS,  D.D. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW    YORK 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS,  :FRANKLIN    SQAURE 


Copyright,  1890,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 
All  rights  reserved. 


PREFACE. 


In  the  preparation  of  this  life  I  have  been  placed  under 
many  obligations  by  friends  of  Bishop  Simpson  who  have 
supplied  me  with  materials.  I  desire  especially  to  thank 
the  Kev.  George  B.  Smith,  of  Cadiz,  Ohio,  for  aid  given  me 
at  the  time  of  my  visit  to  that  town ;  also  to  Professor 
Hamnet,  of  Allegheny  College,  Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Professor  James  K.  Weaver,  of  De  Pauw  University  for 
help  when  I  was  in  those  places  searching  for  information. 
I  am  also  indebted  to  Ex-Governor  A.  G.  Porter,  and  Dr. 
T.  A.  Goodwin,  of  Indianapolis,  for  their  accounts  of  life  in 
Greencastle,  when  the  university  was  under  the  direction 
of  President  Simpson.  Mr.  John  H.  Nicolay,  of  Washing- 
ton, the  biographer  of  President  Lincoln,  very  kindly  made 
a  search  among  the  Lincoln  papers  for  letters.  And  I  beg 
also  to  thank  Bishop  Bowman,  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  Dr. 
John  Lanahan,  Professor  Joseph  Tingley,  President  W.  F. 
Warren,  of  Boston  University,  Mr.  George  II.  Stuart,  and 
other  correspondents  for  reminiscences  of  the  bishop  which 
have  greatly  enriched  this  volume. 

It  ought  to  be  said  that  I  have  found  among  the  papers 
placed  in  my  hands  no  trace  of  the  bishop's  opinions  upon 
public  questions,  or  of  his  estimates  of  public  men.  His  fa- 
miliar correspondence  is  in  the  main  with  his  family,  and  is 


iv  PREFACE. 

wholly  of  a  domestic  nature.  On  this  I  have  drawn  free- 
ly, for  it  shows  his  character  in  a  most  amiable  light.  I 
have  looked  for  letters  which  contain  expressions  of  his 
judgments  upon  public  affairs,  but  have  looked  in  vain. 
The  bishop  has  put  his  thinking  into  his  public  addresses, 
and  there  is  nothing  remaining  that  can  be  added  to 
these  sources  of  information. 


George  E.  Crooks. 


Drew  Theological  Semen* ary, 

Madison,  New  Jersey, 

February  86,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION Page  1 

CHAPTER  I. 

LIFE    IN    CADIZ    (AUTOBIOGRAPHIC). 

Autobiography. — Birth  in  Cadiz,  Ohio. — The  Simpsons  Migrate  from  Eng- 
land to  Ireland,  and  thence  to  the  United  States. — Settlement  in  Ohio 
and  Pennsylvania. — James  Simpson,  the  Father. — His  Failing  Health 
and  Death  in  1812. — The  Simpsons,  from  Presbyterians,  became  Meth- 
odists.—Sarah  Tingley,  the  Bishop's  Mother. — Childhood  of  Matthew 
Simpson. — Early  Schooling. — Advantages  and  Disadvantages. — Learns 
to  Set  Type. — Works  at  Reed-making. — Receives  Permission  to  Enter  a 
Classical  School. — Works  Energetically  on  Latin  and  Greek. — Health 
Injured  by  Close  Application. — Walks  to  Madison  College,  Uniontown. 
— Kind  Reception  from  Doctor  Elliott.  —  The  Faculty.  —  After  Two 
Months  Decides  to  Return  Home. — Dedicates  Himself  to  a  Christian 
Life.  —  Activity  in  the  Church. —  Begins  the  Study  of  Medicine.  —  Is 
Licensed  to  Preach 7 

CHAPTER  II. 

LIFE     IN     CADIZ. 

Personal  Appearance. — Bashfulness.— The  Old  Home.— Helps  in  the  Shop 
and  Teaches  in  the  School. — Passages  from  his  Diary,  1831-1834. — 
Reads  Medicine  with  Dr.  McBean. — Is  Admitted  to  Practice  as  a  Phy- 
sician.— Great  Variety  of  his  Occupations. — Verse-Making. — Distrust 
of  his  Ability  to  Become  a  Public  Speaker. — Makes  Known  to  his 
Mother  his  Puipose  to  Preach. — Her  Answer. — Consecrated  from  his 
Birth  to  the  Christian  Ministry 33 

CHAPTER  III. 

HIS     TEACHERS. 

Uncle  Matthew  Simpson. — His  High  Standing  as  Teacher  and  Legisla- 
tor.— The  Bishop's  Mother.  —  Dr.  James  McBean.  —  His  Kindness  to 


vi  CONTENTS. 

Young  Simpson.— Dr.  Elliott.— The  Start  on  Foot  for  Uniontown  — 
Hears  Classes  i'or  the  College  President.— Is  both  Student  and  As- 
sistant Teacher.— Appointed  College  Tutor— Dr.  Elliott's  Place  among 
Methodist  Educators. — Presbyterianism  and  Methodism  in  the  Forma- 
tion of  the  State  of  Ohio Page  55 

CHAPTER   IV. 

HIS    EARLY    MINISTRY. 

His  Reasons  for  Hesitating  to  Enter  the  Travelling  Ministry.— Appointed 
to  the  Circuit  on  which  he  Lived . — Remonstrances  of  his  Friends.— 
Advantageous  Business  Offers  in  Cadiz.— Prefers  a  Six  Weeks'  Circuit, 
with  Thirty-four  Appointments.— Good  Advice  of  a  Hicksite  Quaker. 
— Much  Work,  but  Small  Pay.— Appointed  to  Pittsburgh  as  a  Junior 
Preacher.  —  Dr.  Sellers.  —  Appointed  to  Liberty  Street  Church,  Pitts- 
burgh.— Trying  Position,  but  Complete  Success. — Marriage. — Wishes 
to  Graduate  A.B.,  but  Receives  Unexpectedly  the  Degree  of  A.M. — 
Stationed  at  Williamsport  —  Begins  Housekeeping. —The  House. — 
Preaching  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. — Rules  of  Life 65 

CHAPTER  V. 

INCIDENTS    OF    HIS    EARLY    MINISTRY. 

Was  Bishop  Simpson's  Pulpit  Power  of  Slow  Growth  ?— Accounts  by 
Relatives  of  his  First  Sermons.— Professor  Hamnett's  Testimony.— His 
Appointment  to  Liberty  Street  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Proof  of  his  Rapid 
Success.— Counsels  of  Dr.  Sellers. — His  Early  Style  Impassioned. — His 
Own  Description  of  his  First  Attempts  to  Make  Sermons.— His  Method 
Purely  Extemporaneous. — Looked  for  Immediate  Results  from  Every 
Sermon. — The  Itinerant  Life  of  that  Period. — The  Simple  Worship  of 
Rustic  Congregations. — His  Own  Account,  from  his  Diary,  of  his  Cir- 
cuit Preaching. — Laborious  Pastorate  in  Pittsburgh. — Studies  in  the 
Hebrew  and  in  the  New  Testament. — Pastoral  Visitation  and  Sunday 
Sermons. — Completes  his  Twenty-fourth  Year.— Dissatisfaction  with 
his  Spiritual  State " 89 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PROFESSOR    IN    ALLEGHENY    COLLEGE    AND    VICE-PRESIDENT. 

The  Beginnings  of  Higher  Education  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
— Asbury's  Notice  of  the  School  in  Uniontown.— Dr.  Alden,  the  Founder 
of  Madison  College. — The  Madison  Merged  in  the  Allegheny  School. 
— Young  Simpson  Elected  to  the  Chair  of  Natural  Science. — Success 
as  a  Teacher. — A  Close  Reader  of  the  Books  of  a  Choice  Library. — 
Elected  President  of  the  Indiana  Asbury  University  in  1838-9.— Rough 
Journey  to  Indiana. — His  own  Review  of  his  Life  in  Meadville.— The 
Course  of  Natural  Science  in  Allegheny  College.— Repairs  the  Appa- 
ratus with  his  own  Hands.— His  Various  Reading  in  these  Years.  .  125 


CONTENTS.  vii 

CHAPTER  VII. 

LIFE     IN     INDIANA. 

Early  Settlement  of  Indiana.  —  Captured  from  the  British  by  General 
Clark.— Settlers  from  the  Southern  Border  States. — The  Early  Method- 
ist Preachers. — John  Strange. — The  Charter  of  Indiana  Asbury,  now 
De  Pauw,  University. — Opposition.  —  Devotion  of  the  Old  Preachers 
to  Education. — President  Simpson's  Arrival  at  Greencastle. — Difficulty 
of  Finding  a  Resting-place.— Only  the  Beginnings  of  a  School. — At- 
tends the  Indiana  Conference.  —  Preaches  the  Centenary  Sermon.  — 
James  V.  Watson.— Condition  of  the  State  in  1839 Page  139 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    COLLEGE    PRESIDENT    AND    HIS    TRIALS. 

Disappointment  on  Both  Sides.— The  Bare  Rudiments  of  a  University. — 
President  Simpson  Enlists  the  Aid  of  the  Methodist  Preachers. — En- 
couragement Given  to  Plain  but  Promising  Boys.  —  Cynthiana  Cir- 
cuit._A  Stirring  Appeal. —The  First  Faculty.  —  Descriptions  of  the 
President  by  Former  Students. — Colonel  John  Ray's  Account. — "He 
is  My  President."  —  Dr.  Simpson's  Versatility.  —  His  Methods  in  the 
Lecture-Room.  —  Ex-Governor  Porter's  Narrative.  —  Dr.  T.  A.  Good- 
win's Story  of  his  Journey  to  Greencastle.  —  Rough  Riding  with 
Two  on  One  Horse. — "  Not  Much  of  a  University,  I  Reckon." — The 
President's  Rules  for  the  Direction  of  his  Own  Life.— The  Inaugura- 
tion.—  Governor  Wallace's  Address  of  Welcome.  —  The  President's 
Address.  —  The  Charge  of  Sectarianism  Answered.  —  The  University 
and  State  Politics.  —  Incessant  Labors.  —  The  Heroisms  of  Methodist 
Education 155 

CHAPTER  IX. 

LIFE    IN    INDIANA. THE    MATURED    ORATOR. 

Bishop  Simpson  in  the  Maturity  of  his  Oratorical  Power. — Deep  Interest 
of  the  People  of  Indiana  in  Preaching. — Religion  and  Politics. — His 
Unquestioning  Faith  in  Christian  Truth. — Sympathetic  Quality  of  his 
Voice. — The  Great  Preachers  of  Indiana,  Simpson,  Ames,  and  Beecher. 
— The  Influence  of  Methodism  on  Henry  Ward  Beecher's  Preaching. — 
Rev.  James  Hill's  Account  of  the  Centennial  Sermon,  1839. — Pounding 
an  Excited  Hearer  on  the  Back. — Description  by  Rev.  O.  S.  Munsell  of 
a  Sermon  Delivered  at  a  Camp-meeting  near  Greencastle. — Hurrying 
of  the  Crowds  to  the  Meeting-ground. — An  Extraordinary  Climax. — 
Some  Incidents  of  that  Day. — The  Lawyer  at  the  Church  Door. — The 
Rev.  John  L.  Smith's  Narrative. — The  Rev.  Aaron  Gurney's  Reminis- 
cence. —  Contrast  between  President  Simpson's  Appearance  and  the 
Exhibitions  of  his  Power. — A  Comical  Mistake. — The  Rev.  B.  F.  Raw- 
lins's Travel  with  President  Simpson  on  Preaching  Tours. — Marvel- 


vi  CONTENTS. 

Young  Simpson.— Dr.  Elliott.— The  Start  on  Foot  for  Uniontown  — 
Hears  Classes  for  the  College  President.— Is  both  Student  and  As- 
sistant Teacher.— Appointed  College  Tutor.— Dr.  Elliott's  Place  among 
Methodist  Educators. — Presbyterianism  and  Methodism  in  the  Forma- 
tion of  the  State  of  Ohio '. Page  55 

CHAPTER  IV. 

HIS    EARLY    MINISTRY. 

Bis  Reasons  for  Hesitating  to  Enter  the  Travelling  Ministry.— Appointed 
to  the  Circuit  on  which  he  Lived.— Remonstrances  of  his  Friends- 
Advantageous  Business  Offers  in  Cadiz.— Prefers  a  Six  Weeks'  Circuit. 
with  Thirty-lour  Appointments.— Good  Advice  of  a  Hicksitc  Quaker. 
—Much  Work,  but  Small  Pay.— Appointed  to  Pittsburgh  as  a  Junior 
Preacher.  — Dr.  Sellers.  — Appointed  to  Liberty  Street  Church,  Pitts- 
burgh.—Trying  Position,  but  Complete  Success. — Marriage. — Wishes 
to  Graduate  A.B.,  but  Receives  Unexpectedly  the  Degree  of  A.M. — 
Stationed  at  Williamsport.  —  Begins  Housekeeping. —The  House. — 
Preaching  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. — Rules  of  Life 05 

CHAPTER  V. 

INCIDENTS    OF    HIS    EARLY    MINISTRY. 

Was  Bishop  Simpson's  Pulpit  Power  of  Slow  Growth ?— Accounts  by 
Relatives  of  his  First  Sermons.— Professor  Hamnett's  Testimony. — His 
Appointment  to  Liberty  Street  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Proof  of  his  Rapid 
Success.— Counsels  of  Dr.  Sellers. — His  Early  Style  Impassioned. — His 
( >wn  Description  of  his  First  Attempts  to  Make  Sermons. — His  Method 
Purely  Extemporaneous. — Looked  for  Immediate  Results  from  Every 
Sermon. — The  Itinerant  Life  of  that  Period. — The  Simple  Worship  of 
Rustic  Congregations. — His  Own  Account,  from  his  Diary,  of  his  Cir- 
cuit Preaching. — Laborious  Pastorate  in  Pittsburgh. — Studies  in  the 
Eebrew  and  in  the  New  Testament. — Pastoral  Visitation  and  Sunday 
Sermons. — Completes  his  Twenty-fourth  Year. —  Dissatisfaction  with 
his  Spiritual  State ." 89 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PROFESSOR    IN'    ALLEGHENY    COLLEGE     AND    VICE-PRESIDENT. 

The  Beginnings  of  Higher  Education  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
— Asbury's  Notice  of  the  School  in  Uniontown. — Dr.  Alden,  the  Founder 
of  Madison  College. — The  Madison  Merged  in  the  Allegheny  School. 
— Y'oung  Simpson  Elected  to  the  Chair  of  Natural  Science. — Success 
:i-  a  Teacher. — A  Close  Reader  of  the  Books  of  a  Choice  Library. — 
Elected  President  of  the  Indiana  Asbury  University  in  1838-9.— Rough 
Journey  to  Indiana. — His  own  Review  of  his  Life  in  Meadville. — The 
Course  tit  Natural  Science  in  Allegheny  College.— Repairs  the  Appa- 
ratus with  his  owu  Hands.— His  Various  Reading  in  these  Years. .  125 


CONTENTS.  vii 

CHAPTER  VII. 

LIFE     IN     INDIANA. 

Early  Settlement  of  Indiana.  —  Captured  from  the  British  by  General 
Clark.— Settlers  from  the  Southern  Border  States.— The  Early  Method- 
ist Preachers.— John  Strange.— The  Charter  of  Indiana  Asbury,  now 
De  Pauw,  University. — Opposition.  —  Devotion  of  the  Old  Preachers 
to  Education.— President  Simpson's  Arrival  at  Greencastle.— Difficulty 
of  Finding  a  Resting-place.— Only  the  Beginnings  of  a  School. — At- 
tends the  Indiana  Conference.  —  Preaches  the  Centenary  Sermon. — 
James  V.  Watson.— Condition  of  the  State  in  1839 Page  139 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    COLLEGE    PRESIDENT    AND    HIS    TRIALS. 

Disappointment  on  Both  Sides.— The  Bare  Rudiments  of  a  University  — 
President  Simpson  Enlists  the  Aid  of  the  Methodist  Preachers.— En- 
couragement Given  to  Plain  but  Promising  Boys.  —  Cynthiana  Cir- 
cuit.—A  Stirring  Appeal. —The  First  Faculty.  —  Descriptions  of  the 
President  by  Former  Students.— Colonel  John  Ray's  Account.— "He 
is  My  President."  —  Dr.  Simpson's  Versatility.  —  His  Methods  in  the 
Lecture-Room.  —  Ex-Governor  Porter's  Narrative.  —  Dr.  T.  A.  Good- 
win's Story  of  his  Journey  to  Greencastle.  —  Rough  Riding  with 
Two  on  One  Horse.—"  Not  Much  of  a  University,  I  Reckon." — The 
President's  Rules  for  the  Direction  of  his  Own  Life.— The  Inaugura- 
tion.—  Governor  Wallace's  Address  of  Welcome.  —  The  President's 
Address.  —  The  Charge  of  Sectarianism  Answered.  —  The  University 
and  State  Politics. —Incessant  Labors.  —  The  Heroisms  of  Methodist 
Education 155 

CHAPTER  IX. 

LIFE    IN    INDIANA. THE    MATURED    ORATOR. 

Bishop  Simpson  in  the  Maturity  of  his  Oratorical  Power.— Deep  Interest 
of  the  People  of  Indiana  in  Preaching. — Religion  and  Politics.— His 
Unquestioning  Faith  in  Christian  Truth.— Sympathetic  Quality  of  his 
Voice.— The  Great  Preachers  of  Indiana,  Simpson,  Ames,  and  Beecher. 
—The  Influence  of  Methodism  on  Henry  Ward  Beecher's  Preaching. — 
Rev.  James  Hill's  Account  of  the  Centennial  Sermon,  1839. — Pounding 
an  Excited  Hearer  on  the  Back.— Description  by  Rev.  O.  S.  Munsell  of 
a  Sermon  Delivered  at  a  Camp-meeting  near  Greencastle.— Hurrying 
of  the  Crowds  to  the  Meeting-ground.— An  Extraordinary  Climax.— 
Some  Incidents  of  that  Day.— The  Lawyer  at  the  Church  Door.— The 
Rev.  John  L.  Smith's  Narrative.— The  Rev.  Aaron  Gurney's  Reminis- 
cence. —  Contrast  between  President  Simpson's  Appearance  and  the 
Exhibitions  of  his  Power.— A  Comical  Mistake.— The  Rev.  B.  F.  Raw- 
lins's Travel  with  President  Simpson  on  Preaching  Tours.— Marvel- 


viii  CONTENTS. 

Ions  Effects  of  Simpson's  Descriptions.— The  First  Redeemed  Sinner. 
— A  Break-down  in  the  Midst  of  a  Quagmire. — Bishop  Simpson  at  the 
Tremont  Temple  in  1866.— The  Rev.  R.  II.  Howard's  Narrative.— The 
Old  Vigor  Still  Alive  in  1370 Page  181 

CHAPTER   X. 

bishop  Simpson's  theory  of  preachixc;. 

Methodist  Preaching  the  Style  Adopted  by  Laymen. — Ridicule  by  Society 
of  the  Early  Methodist  Preachers.  —  Goldsmith  on  the  State-Church 
Sermons  of  his  Time.  — Bishop  Simpson's  Theory  of  Preaching  Con- 
tained in  his  "Yale  Lectures." — Preaching  is  for  the  Common  People. 
— The  Minister  a  Connecting  Link  between  the  Rich  and  the  Poor. — 
A  Beautiful  Illustration. — The  Sympathetic  Voice.— The  Exhortation 
at  Lock  Haven. — Persuasion  rather  than  Instruction  the  End  of  Preach- 
ing.— The  Minister  a  "Witness. — Extemporaneous  Preaching  the  Most 
Effective. — His  Own  Mode  of  Acquiring  the  Power  of  Extemporaneous 
Address. — Bascom,  Summerfield,  Olin,  Durbin,  and  Simpson. — Durbin 
and  Simpson  Contrasted.  —  Examples  of  Durban's  Electric  Power. — 
Account  of  the  Sermon  on  uThe  Victory  of  Faith,''  by  an  Editor  of 
the  Andoter  Review 207 

CHAPTER  XL 

DELEGATE    TO    THE    GENERAL    CONFERENCE,  1S44,  1843,  1852. 

General  Conference  of  1844. — Diary  of  President  Simpson's  Trip  to  New 
York. — His  Weariness  of  the  Conference  Proceedings. — The  Case  of 
Bishop  Andrew. — He  is  Asked  to  Resign. — Dread  of  the  Effect  upon 
the  Country  of  a  Division  of  the  Church. — Position  of  Olin. — George 
F.  Pierce  :  ';Lct  New  England  go." — Brilliant  Reply  of  Jesse  T.  Peck. 
— Constitutional  Argument  of  Ilamline. — Address  of  Bishop  Andrew. 
—  Bishop  Soule  Threatens  to  Secede. — Durbin's  Reply  to  Soule. — 
Southern  Tact.  — The  Protest  of  the  South  Read  by  Bascom.  — The 
Reply  of  the  Majority. — A  Contingent  Plan  of  Separation. — The  Louis- 
ville Convention  of  1845. — John  C.  Calhoun's  Reference  to  the  Division 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — The  General  Conference  of  1848. 
— The  Plan  of  Separation  Repudiated. — Conference  of  1852. — Simp- 
sou's  Report  on  Lay  Delegation 229 

CHAPTER  XII. 

EDITOR    OF    THE    "WESTERN    CHRISTIAN    ADVOCATE." 

The  Life  of  a  College  President  Forty  Years  ago. — The  Failing  Health 
ofPresident  Simpson. — Advised  to  Change  his  Mode  of  Life. — Elected 
Editor  of  the  Westi  n>  Christian  Advocate. — Invited  to  be  President  of 
Several  Colleges. — Power  of  a  Methodist  Official  Editor. — Doctor  El- 
liott, President  Simpson's  Editorial  Predecessor. — The  New  Editor's 
Idea  of  the  Administration  of  his  Paper. — No  Controversy  to  be  Tol- 


CONTENTS.  ix 

crated.  —  Doctor  Foster  Replies  in  the  Advocate  to  Doctor  Rice,  not- 
withstanding.— The  Make-up  of  the  Advocate.— Is  Drawn  into  Con- 
troversy on  the  Great  Political  Question  of  the  Time. — The  Situation 
North  and  South.  — Threats  of  Disunion.  —  Henry  Clay's  Omnibus 
Bill.— Positions  of  Clay,  Calhoun,  and  Webster.— The  Famous  Editorial 
on  "  The  Union."— Its  Reception. — Attacks  the  Fugitive-Slave  Bill. — 
Controversy  with  the  Indiana  State  Sentinel. — Ridicules  Compromising 
Politicians.  —  Rapid  Growth  as  an  Editor. — Mr.  S.  P.  Chase's  Letters 
to  Him . Page  253 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

FIRST    EPISCOPAL    TOURS. 

Elected  Bishop,  May,  1852.— Gloomy  State  of  Public  Affairs.— The  Inci- 
dents of  his  Election,  as  Narrated  by  Himself.  —  Refuses  to  Try  to  In- 
fluence Votes,  by  any  Word  or  Act.  —  Modest  Estimate  of  his  Fitness 
for  the  Episcopal  Office.— A  Reminder  of  his  Early  Struggles.  —  His 
First  Conference.  —  Holds  Pittsburgh  and  Erie  Conferences.  —  Gets 
Points  by  Observing  the  Administration  of  his  Elder  Colleagues. — 
Tour  up  the  Kanawha  River. — Reflections  upon  the  Closing  of  the  Old 
Year  and  the  Opening  of  the  New. — Prayer  for  Wisdom  and  Grace. — 
Meets  Gordon  D.  Battelle—  Active  Labors  in  Pittsburgh.— A  Delayed 
Train. — Reaches  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania. — Will  not  Travel  on  Sun- 
day.— An  Amusing  Mistake.— Unpretentious  Bearing  of  Bishop  Simp- 
son.— The  End  of  his  Diary 275 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

AN    EPISCOPAL    TOUR    THROUGH    CALIFORNIA  AND    OREGON. 

New  Conditions  of  Life  for  Bishop  Simpson.— Incessant  Travel  Required 
of  him.— His  Mental  Activity.  — His  Secretary's  Account  of  his  Mode 
of  Preparing  for  Preaching  and  Lecturing. — Skeleton  of  the  Sermon 
on  2  Corinthians  iv.  18.— Too  Busy  to  Write. — A  Compensation  for  the 
Loss  of  Opportunities  of  Study.— The  Many  Applications  for  his  Ser- 
vices.—Readiness  to  Help  the  Churches.— Sails  for  California,  Decem- 
ber, 1853.— Crossing  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  — Hotel  Experiences  in 
the  "  Gem."— The  Chagres  River.— Cruces—  Spoiling  of  Romantic  Ex- 
pectations.—The  "St.  Charles"  or  the  "American,"  Which?  — The 
"  Refuse  of  Creation  "  Brought  Together.— Riding  on  Mules  through 
the  Gorges.— A  Native  Forest,— Panama.— Another  Crowded  Hotel.— 
A  Little  Prayer-meeting  on  the  Last  Evening  of  the  Year.— A  Broken 
Cot,  and  a  Night's  Sleep  on  the  Floor.— The  Golden  Gate  Breaks  her 
Shaft.— Drifting  on  the  Pacific  Ocean.— A  Glorious  Sunset.— Arrival 
at  San  Diego. —The  Golden  Gate  nearly  Wrecked.— Failure  of  At- 
tempts to  Rescue  the  Ship.— Subsidence  of  the  Storm. — Arrival  at  San 
Francisco.— Meets  William  Taylor.— Preaching  nearly  Every  Day  — 
Delay  of  Steamer  for  Oregon.— Difficulties  in  the  Way  of  Reaching  the 


X  CONTENTS. 

Seat  of  the  Oregon  Conference.  —  An  All-night  Ride  in  an  Open 
Wagon. — Sleeping  on  Sheaves  of  Oats. — Twenty  Miles  on  Horseback, 
Satchel  in  Hand.  —  Reaches  the  Log  School-house  in  which  the  Con- 
ference is  Held. — Great  Joy  of  the  People. — Return  to  Portland. — Jour- 
ney up  the  Columbia  River. — Perils  of  Waters  and  of  the  Wilderness. 
— A  Night  in  an  Indian  Camp. — Journey  Home Page  295 

CHAPTER  XV. 

AN  EPISCOPAL  TOUR  TO  TEXAS. JOURNEY  TO  EUROPE. 

Many  Gaps  in  Bishop  Simpson's  Papers.  —  Episcopal  Tour  in  Texas. — 
Travels  with  Bewley,  the  Martyr. — Rough  Stage-riding. — His  Connec- 
tion with  the  Founding  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  India. — 
The  Rev.  William  Buttler's  Commission. — Appointed  in  I806,  with  Dr. 
McClintoek,  a  Delegate  to  the  British  Conference. — Rev.  W.  II.  Mil- 
burn  Joins  the  Party.  —  "You  Dr.  McClintock?''  —  Recejjtion  of  the 
Delegates  by  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference. — Their  Speeches. — No 
Rest  at  Home  or  Abroad. — World's  Conference  of  the  Evangelical  Alli- 
ance in  Berlin. — Krummacher's  Address  of  Welcome. — Replies  on  Be- 
half of  Americans  by  Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright  and  Bishop  Simpson. 
— Entertainment  of  the  Alliance  at  Potsdam  by  the  King  of  Prussia. — 
A  Handsome  Reception. — Sermon  on  Christian  Unity  by  Bishoji  Simp- 
son in  the  Garnisons  Kirche,  Berlin U27 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

JOURNEY    TO    THE    EAST. ILLNESS    AND    RECOVERY    OF    HEALTH. 

On  the  Way  to  the  Holy  Land. — His  Travelling  Companions. — At  Con- 
stantinople.— Taken  Sick  on  the  Voyage  to  Smyrna. — "  Twenty  Years 
Ago." — Slow  Recovery. — The  Traveller's  Enthusiasm. — Last  Look  at 
Palestine,  and  Homeward.  —  Alexandria,  Cairo,  and  the  Pyramids. — 
Prostrated  again  at,  Naples. — Reaches  Marseilles,  Paris,  and  London. — 
At  Home,  and  at  Work  again. — Removal  from  Pittsburgh  to  Evanston, 
Illinois. — Reaches  his  Fiftieth  Year.— Growing  Old. — The  Troubles  in 
the  Church. — The  Nation  and  the  Church  in  Sympathy  with  Each  Other. 
— The  Agressions  of  the  Slave  Power  in  the  State. — Aroused  Anti-sla- 
very Feeling  in  the  Church. — The  New  Chapter  on  Slavery. — Unrest 
of  the  Border  Conferences.  —  The  JL  thodist  Established.  —  The  Last 
Struggle  between  Freedom  and  Slavery  Coming  on oil 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

T  H  E     CIVIL     W  A  R. 

The  Contest  over  the  Spread  of  Slavery  Transferred  from  the  Church  to 
the  State.— Attitude  of  Political  Parties  in  18G0—  Effect  on  the  South 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Election. — Bishoj)  Simpson  and  the  President. — Tes- 
timony  upon  the  Bishop's  Relations  to  Mr.  Lincoln.— Bishop  Bowman's 
Narrative.  —  Testimony  of  General  Fisk  and  Doctor  Lanahan.  —  The 


CONTENTS.  xi 

Bishop  becomes  the  Evangelist  of  Patriotism.— His  Great  War  Speed). 
—Effects  Produced  by  its  Delivery.— Scenes  in  Cincinnati  and  New 
York. — Not  a  Line  of  this  Address  Written  by  Him. — Despondency  of 
the  Country  in  1864. — The  General  Conference  Sends  a  Deputation  to 
the  President  to  Assure  Him  of  the  Support  of  the  Churches.  —  Mr. 
Lincoln's  Reply  to  the  Conference's  Message.— Removal  of  the  Bishop 
to  Philadelphia.  —  Address,  in  Behalf  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  at  the  Sanitary 
Fair,  Philadelphia.  — The  Death  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  1865.  — Bishop 
Simpson's  Address  at  the  President's  Grave. — Another  Closing  Scene. 
— The  Last  Meeting  of  the  Christian  Commission  in  February,  1866. — 
The  Bishop  Speaks  the  Final  Words Page  367 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

LAY     DELEGATION. 

The  History  of  Methodist  Lay  Representation  a  Long  One. — Origin  of 
the  Ministerial  Power. — Dissatisfaction  with  the  Sole  Government  of 
the  Church  by  Ministers. — The  Wesleyan  Repository. —  Merged  in  the 
Mutual  Eights.— Mr.  William  S.  Stockton  and  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond.— 
The  Report  of  1828  on  "  Petitions  and  Memorials."— The  Philadelphia 
Movement. — Return  of  Dr.  Bond  to  the  Chair  of  the  Christian  Advocate. 
— The  AVolves  and  the  Sheep. — Petitions  to  the  General  Conference. — 
Popular  and  Ministerial  Vote  on  Lay  Delegation  in  1861. — Lay  Dele- 
gation Defeated. — The  Cause  Taken  Up  by  The  Methodist. — Prejudice 
against  its  Supporters. — The  Right  to  a  Free  Press  Asserted. — Bishop 
Simpson  becomes  a  Helper  of  the  Laymen. — Letters  of  Daniel  L.  Ross 
to  Him.— The  John  Street  Meeting,  March,  1863.— The  Bishop's  Coun- 
sels.— The  Convention  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  New  York,  May,  1863. — 
The  Bishop's  Address. — Angry  Opposition.— The  Opposition  not  Sur- 
prising.— Succeeding  Conventions.— Co-operation  of  Leading  Official 
Editors. — The  Minority  becomes  a  Majority.— Completion  of  the  Work 
in  1872 407 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    YEARS    OF    PEACE. 

Peace  Restored.  —  Reunion  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  Methodist 
Churches.— Visit  of  Bishops  Janes  and  Simpson  to  the  Southern  Bish- 
ops.— A  Friendly  Meeting.— At  what  Point  shall  the  Restoration  of 
Fraternity  Begin?— Demand  that  the  Church  South  shall  be  Recog- 
nized as  Legitimate.  —  A  Deputation  to  the  Southern  General  Con- 
ference of  1874.  —  Speeches  of  our  Fraternal  Delegates.  —  Fraternal 
Messengers  from  the  South  to  our  General  Conference  of  1876.— Doctor 
Lovick  Pierce  Unable  to  Attend  in  Person. — His  Address  Read. — Its 
Beauty  and  Christian  Spirit. — Appointment  of  a  Commission  to  Settle 
Pending  Questions.— These  Questions  Difficult— Order  of  Secretary 
Stanton,  in  1864,  in  Relation  to  Southern  Methodist  Churches.— The 
Order  Modified.— Its  Operation.— The  Case  of  McKendree  Chapel.— 


xii  CONTENTS. 

Some  Good  Results  of  the  Order. — General  Fisk's  Pacific  Policy. — 
"Disintegration  and  Absorption." — Terms  of  Settlement  Unanimously 
Agreed  to  by  the  Joint  Commission.— Anxiety  of  Bishop  Simpson  for 
the  Success  of  Lay  Delegation.— His  Letters  on  that  Subject. — Letters 
to  his  Family  Abroad.— Trip  to  Mexico  in  1874  and  to  Europe  in  1875. 
—Preaching  through  an  Interpreter.— The  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching. 
— Starts  for  Japan  and  China  in  1880,  but  is  Taken  Sick  at  San  Fran- 
cisco.— The  Methodist  (Ecumenical  Conference,  London,  1881. — The 
Garfield  Memorial  Meeting  in  Exeter  Hall.  —  Wonderful  Effect  of 
Bishop  Simpson's  Address Page  431 

CHAPTER  XX. 

LAST    DAYS. 

Serious  Nature  of  the  Attack  of  Illness  at  San  Francisco. — The  Bishop's 
Hopeful  Spirit. — Solicitude  of  his  Family  and  Friends. — His  Last  Ser- 
mon in  Boston,  in  the  Winter  of  1884. — Giving  Way  of  his  Strength. 
— General  Conference  Meets  in  May,  1884,  near  his  Home. — Opens  the 
Conference. — Unable  to  Preside  more  than  Once. — Occasional  Visits  to 
the  Conference  Sessions. — Closes  the  Conference  with  an  Address.— A 
Rallying  of  his  Strength,  Followed  by  Relapse.— Last  Words. — Death, 
June  18,  1884 4C3 


APPENDIX. 
I.  Published  Works  of  Bishop  Simpson 473 

II.  President  Simpson's  Inaugural  Address,  Greencastle,  Ind., 

Sept.  16, 1840 474 

III.  The  Centenary  of  American  Methodism 505 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page 

Bishop  Simpson  in  Middle  Life Frontispiece. 

The  Simpson  Home  in  Cadiz,  Ohio     ....  4 

The  Old  Court-House  at  Cadiz 51 

Mrs.  Sarah  Simpson,  the  Bishop's  Mother.     .  Facing  p.     58 

Uncle  Matthew  Simpson "  104 

The  Old  School -house  First  Used  by  the 

Asbury  University 147 

The  Academy  Building  Used  till  1840.     .     .  149 

Old  or  West  College,  Greencastle.    Opened 

IN  1840 Facing  p.  170 

Bishop  Edward  R.  Ames "  134 

Bishop   Simpson's  Skeleton   op   His  Sermon 

on  2  Corinth,  iv.  18 "  296 

Commission  of  Rev.  William  Butler  as  Su- 
perintendent of  Methodist  Missions  in 

India «  330 

President  Lincoln's  Reply  to  the  Deputa- 
tion from  the  General  Conference  of 

1864 «  394 

Bishop  Simpson  in  Later  Years "  432 

The   Garfield   Memorial  Meeting   at  Exe- 
ter Hall,  London "  453 


LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 


LNTKODUCTION. 


Bishop  Simpson  was  born  in  the  town  of  Cadiz,  Ohio,  of 
which  his  father,  James  Simpson,  was  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers. Cadiz  is  now  the  county-seat  of  Harrison  County, 
and  was  usually  reached  from  the  Ohio  Kiver,  in  the  days 
of  the  bishop's  boyhood,  by  the  way  of  Steubenville  or 
Wheeling.  The  site  of  the  town,  and  the  region  round- 
about, are  underlaid  with  coal ;  the  soil  is  fertile,  and  the 
farms  are  rich  in  wool  and  grain,  their  chief  products.  Of 
the  first  settlement  the  following  account  is  given  in 
Howe's  history  of  Ohio :  "  Cadiz  was  laid  out  in  1803-4  by 
Messrs.  Briggs  and  Beatty.  Its  site  was  then,  like  most 
of  the  surrounding  country,  a  forest,  and  its  location  was 
induced  by  the  junction  there  of  the  road  from  Pittsburgh 
by  Steubenville,  with  the  road  from  Washington,  Pennsyl- 
vania, by  Wellsburg,  Virginia,  from  whence  the  two  united 
by  Cambridge  to  Zanesville ;  and  previous  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  national  road  through  Ohio  was  travelled  more 
than  any  other  road  northwest  of  the  Ohio  Kiver.  In  April, 
1809,  it  contained  the  following-named  persons  with  their 
families :  Jacob  Arnold,  inn-keeper,  Andrew  MeNeely,  hatter, 
and  justice  of  the  peace ;  Joseph  Harris,  merchant ;  John 
1 


2  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Jamison,  tanner ;  John  McRea,  wheelwright ;  Robert  Wil- 
kens,  brickmaker;  Connell  Abdill,  shoemaker;  Jacob 
Myers,  carpenter;  Nathan  Pritchard,  blacksmith;  Nathan 
Adams,  tailor ;  James  Simpson,  reedmaker ;  William  Ting- 
ley,  school-teacher,  and  old  Granny  Young,  midwife  and 
baker,  who  was  subsequently  elected  justice  of  the  peace 
by  the  citizens,  in  a  fit  of  hilarity,  but,  women  not  being 
eligible  to  office  in  Ohio,  was  obliged  to  forego  the  pleasure 
of  serving  her  constituents." 

The  town  has  been,  in  former  days,  and  no  doubt  is  still, 
noted  for  the  brilliant  talents  of  the  members  of  its  bar. 
Here  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Lincoln's  secretary  of  war,  and 
John  A.  Bingham,  the  prosecutor  of  Lincoln's  murderers 
(still  living  in  a  green  old  age),  practised  their  profession. 
Here,  too,  Bishop  Simpson's  maternal  uncle,  William  Ting- 
ley,  was  clerk  of  the  county  court  for  the  long  period  of 
thirty  years.  His  minute  handwriting,  as  exact  and  as 
finished  as  copper-plate  engraving,  is  still  to  be  found  in  the 
records  of  the  court,  and  of  itself  is  enough  to  silence  the 
su££estion  that  the  first  settlers  of  Cadiz  were  rude  border- 
men.  From  this  town,  too,  the  bishop's  paternal  uncle, 
Matthew  Simpson,  was  sent  to  the  Ohio  legislature,  where, 
in  the  state  senate,  he  took  high  rank  as  a  clear-sighted  and 
logical  debater.  Of  the  old  times  in  Ohio,  fifty  or  sixty 
}Tears  ago,  the  recollections  are  passing  away,  chiefly  from 
the  lack  in  the  local  historians  of  the  pictorial  power  which 
can  produce  a  clear  image  of  the  past  out  of  the  materials 
which  it  has  left  us.  We  catch  some  glimpses  of  the  state 
of  society  in  that  period  from  the  recent  life  of  Ben  Wade.* 
The  supreme  judges  were  of  high  quality ;  justice  travelled 
with  them  on  wheels,  visiting  every  county-seat  in  a  twelve- 
month. "  Judge  Peter  Hitchcock,"  says  Riddle,  "  used  to 
drive  a  sorrel  horse  in  a  wooden-springed  light  wagon, 
painted  yellow,  annually  over  the  state  for  many  years." 

*  "  Life  of  Benjamin  F.  Wade."     By  A.  G.  Riddle,  Cleveland,  1886. 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

When  "Wade  went  to  the  county-seat  of  Ashtabula,  he 
found  "  a  muddy,  sodden  little  town,  largely  of  log  build- 
ings. The  woods  were  very  near  walling  it  in  all  round. 
They  still  covered  the  whole  country,  with  stumpy  and  muddy 
roads  through  them  leading  to  it ;  the  wide  swampy  lands 
were  traversed  on  log- ways  of  sections  of  trees,  twelve  or 
eighteen  inches  through,  laid  side  by  side,  sometimes  for 
miles  in  extent."  Like  all  pioneers,  these  Ohio  people 
were  litigious  ;  "  to  go  to  a  law-suit  between  others  was  a 
great  thing.  To  be  called  as  a  juror  gave  a  man  impor- 
tance ;  he  not  only  heard  the  lawyers,  they  talked  to  him. 
He  was  a  part  of  the  tribunal ;  ever  after  a  man  of  note  in 
the  neighborhood."  *  Not  only  were  these  borderers  litig- 
ious, they  were  acute  polemics  in  theology.  In  no  part  of 
the  land  was  theological  debate  so  rife  as  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio  from  1800  to  1840.  Thought  was  free.  New 
religious  sects,  unknown  to  former  times,  had  sprung  up 
on  the  soil;  the  historic  churches  had  chosen  what  ap- 
peared to  be  eligible  positions,  and  were  competing  for  as- 
cendency. I  doubt  if  the  Bible  was  ever  more  used  for  de- 
bating purposes  than  in  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illi- 
nois during  this  period.  The  traveller  on  horseback  might 
often  stop  on  a  Saturday,  at  a  log  school-house,  and  find 
the  rustic  combatants  battling  with  each  other  on  "the 
five  points,"  the  divinity  of  Christ,  or  baptism,  with  all 
the  energy  of  Luther  and  Eck  at  Leipsic. 

Into  the  midst  of  such  a  community  Bishop  Simpson  was 
born,  in  the  early  part  of  this  century.  It  was  a  virtuous 
community ;  religious  feeling  was  intense,  and  religious  zeal 
active.  The  public-school  system  of  Ohio  did  not  then  ex- 
ist, and  the  schools  taught  by  his  uncle  Matthew,  of  which 
we  shall  hear,  were  maintained  by  subscriptions.  The  house 
in  which  the  bishop  was  born  is  no  longer  standing ;  its  site 
is  now  occupied  by  a  hotel  and  other  business  buildings. 

*  "  Life  of  B.  F.  Wade,"  pp.  75,  76. 


LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 


3§B®3|?lis233gS  — _ 


THE   SIMPSON  HOME  IN  CADIZ,  OHIO. 

The  house  in  which  the  family  lived,  for  some  years  after 
his  fathers  death,  is  still  to  be  found,  though  now  removed 
from  its  original  place.  It  was  a  plain  one  story  and  a  half 
structure,  and  most  likely  of  the  style  of  the  majority  of  the 
homes  of  his  native  town.  "  It  was,"  says  Professor  Joseph 
Tingley,  the  bishop's  cousin,  "  a  small,  unpainted  plain  frame 
house,  of  four  or  five  rooms,  one  of  which  was  used  for  a 
schoolroom  b}7  Uncle  Matthew.  This  last  was  an  addition, 
probably  built  for  the  purpose."  Born  and  reared  under 
these  conditions,  Bishop  Simpson,  laying  hold  of  such  helps 
as  he  could  find,  acquired  as  much  knowledge  of  the  Latin 
and  Greek  classics  as  was  attainable  in  Ohio  in  that  gen- 
eration,  studied  and  practised  medicine,  became  a  college 
professor  and  then  a  college  president,  administered  the 
office  of  a  bishop  for  thirty-two  years,  was,  during  the  civil 
war,  a  recognized  power  in  national  affairs,  and  left  a 
fame  for  pulpit  eloquence  throughout  the  English-speaking 
world.  It  will  be  our  task  to  trace  the  successive  steps 
of  this  progress,  and  to  show  the  means  by  which  it 
was  accomplished ;  and  we  first  offer  to  the  reader  his 
own  brief  narrative  of  his  early  life. 


I. 

LIFE    IN    CADIZ. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHIC. 


Autobiography. — Birth  in  Cadiz,  Ohio. — The  Simpsons  Migrate  from  Eng- 
land to  Ireland,  and  thence  to  the  United  States. — Settlement  in  Ohio 
and  Pennsylvania. — James  Simpson,  the  Father.  —His  Failing  Health 
and  Death  in  1812. — The  Simpsons,  from  Presbyterians,  became  Metho- 
dists.— Sarah  Tingley,  the  Bishop's  Mother. — Childhood  of  Matthew 
Simpson. — Early  Schooling. — Advantages  and  Disadvantages. — Learns 
to  Set  Type. — Works  at  Reed-making. — Receives  Permission  to  Enter  a 
Classical  School. — Works  Energetically  on  Latin  and  Greek. — Health 
Injured  by  Close  Application. — Walks  to  Madison  College,  Uniontown. 
—  Kind  Reception  from  Doctor  Elliott. —  The  Faculty. —  After  Two 
Months  Decides  to  Return  Home. — Dedicates  himself  to  a  Christian 
Life. — Activity  in  the  Church.— Begins  the  Study  of  Medicine. — Is 
Licensed  to  Preach. 


BIRTH  AND  ANCESTRY. 


I  was  born  in  Cadiz,  Harrison  County,  Ohio,  June  21, 
1811.  Of  my  paternal  ancestry  I  know  comparatively  little. 
My  grandfather  by  the  father's  side  was  Thomas  Simpson, 
who  was  from  England,  and  had  been  in  the  service  of  the 
government  as  a  horse  dragoon  for  a  few  years,  then 
emigrated  to  Ireland  and  settled  in  Tyrone  County.  Of 
his  people  I  have  had  little  information.  He  died  in 
middle  life  of  a  strain  received  in  attempting  to  raise  a 
huge  pole  upon  a  building,  and  left  a  family  of  five  sons 
and  one  daughter.  The  sons  were  Andrew,  John,  William, 
Matthew,  and  James,  and  the  daughter  was  Mary,  who 
was  married  to  a  Mr.  Eagleson. 

In  1793  the  family,  including  my  father's  mother,  em- 
igrated to  the  United  States,  sailing  from  Londonderry  to 
Baltimore.  On  their  way,  not  far  from  the  American  coast, 
they  were  taken  by  a  French  vessel — France  being  then  at 
war  with  England — and  stripped  of  nearly  everything  they 
had.  Landing  at  Baltimore,  they  removed  to  Huntingdon 
County,  Pennsylvania,  and  afterwards  to  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Ohio.  Andrew  Simpson  settled  near  Chillicothe, 
and  has  left  a  large  family.  John  settled  on  Stillwater 
Creek,  in  Harrison  County,  Ohio,  when  the  population  was 
small,  raised  a  large  family  of  sons  and  daughters,  the  most 
of  whom  are  now  in  Illinois.  William  settled  near  Water- 
ford,  Erie  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  the  prime  of 
life,  leaving  several  sons.  Mary  Eagleson  settled  in  Har- 
rison County,  Ohio,  and  brought  up  a  large  family  of  sons 
and  daughters,  all  of  whom,  except  two  daughters,  died 
without  children. 


8  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

James,  my  father,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  was  a  man 
of  great  personal  energy,  and  unusual  business  tact.  From 
exposure  to  the  weather  he  caught  a  severe  cold,  which 
produced  a  sciatic  affection  and  made  him  lame  for  several 
years,  and  finally  ended  in  an  affection  of  the  lungs.  In 
consequence  of  his  enfeebled  health,  he  entered  a  store  in 
Pittsburgh  as  a  clerk.  Afterwards  he  began  the  business  of 
manufacturing  weavers'  reeds,  and,  with  my  uncle  Matthew, 
who  had  no  family,  but  lived  with  him,  set  up  this  business 
in  Cadiz,  and  connected  with  it  a  store,  in  which  they  were 
in  partnership  with  Mr.  Wrenshall,  of  Pittsburgh. 

He  was  married,  in  1806,  to  Sarah  Tingley,  with  whom 
he  had  formed  an  acquaintance  when  living,  for  a  short 
time,  at  Short  Creek,  Jefferson  County,  Ohio.  They  removed 
to  Cadiz  immediately  after  marriage.  He  bought  property 
in  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  was  very  successful  in  busi- 
ness until,  his  health  failing,  in  1811,  he  moved  to  Pitts- 
burgh for  medical  advice,  and  there  died,  at  his  home  on 
Fourth  Street,  between  Market  and  Ferry,  June  15, 1812. 

Being  of  Scotch  Presbyterian  descent,  my  grandmother 
Simpson  educated  her  family  very  strictly  in  the  faith  of 
the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church,  but  shortly  after  being  left 
a  widow,  she  heard  Mr.  Wesley  preach,  on  one  of  his  visits 
to  Ireland.  Her  heart  was  touched ;  she  attended  class  and 
joined  the  Methodist  Society,  and  from  that  time  forward 
her  children  attended  Methodist  meetings,  and,  at  an  early 
age,  all  of  them  united  with  the  Methodist  Church.  She 
was  a  woman  of  more  than  ordinary  intellect.  Left  a  wid- 
ow in  narrow  circumstances,  she  trained  a  large  family  in 
habits  of  industry  and  economy,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
living  to  see  every  one  of  them  occupying  a  respectable 
position  in  life.  She  had  a  wonderful  memory.  Often. 
when  a  boy,  did  I  listen  to  her  reminiscences  of  Scotch  and 
Irish  life,  the  persecution  of  Protestants  by  the  Catholics ; 
and  often  have  I,  in  the  long  winter  evenings,  listened  to 
stories  of  fairy  and  elf  and  ghost,  the  common  traditions  of 


THE  SIMPSONS  AND   TUE  TINGLETS.  9 

the  North  of  Ireland,  until  I  found  my  hair  standing  on  end, 
and  I  was  almost  afraid  to  leave  the  little  circle  in  which  I 
sat  enchanted.  She  was  happy  at  ninety,  with  her  old-fash- 
ioned spinning-wheel  and  her  hymn-book,  singing  the  hymns 
she  loved,  and  was  a  devout  and  constant  attendant  at  the 
church  as  long  as  she  was  able  to  visit  it. 

My  mother,  Sarah  Tingley,  was  born  in  New  Jersey, 
some  twenty  miles  from  South  Amboy,  near  Stony  Brook ; 
but  in  her  childhood  was  taken  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Amboy.  Her  father's  name  was  Jeremiah  Tingley.  Dur- 
ing the  war  of  the  Be  volution  he  was  drafted  and  served  a 
term  in  the  army,  and  then,  as  the  war  continued,  he  en- 
listed for  an  additional  term,  and  was  present  at  several 
battles,  though,  not  actively  engaged.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  received  a  soldier's  claim  for  lands  in  Western  Vir- 
ginia, and  purposed  to  move  west,  but  the  agent  who  pre- 
tended to  locate  his  land  deceived  him,  and  he  never  re- 
covered it.  On  his  way  west,  in  1790,  he  was  taken  ill 
at  Winchester,  Virginia,  and,  after  recovering,  remained  a 
number  of  years  in  that  region.  He  was  brought  up,  as 
was  my  mother's  mother,  a  Baptist,  but  on  removing  to 
Winchester,  there  being  no  Baptist  church  near  them,  my 
mother  attended  Methodist  preaching,  and  was  awakened 
and  converted.  In  1801  the  family  removed  to  Ohio  and 
settled  on  Short  Creek,  near  Hopewell,  where  Grandfather 
Tingley  died,  and  where,  June  10,  1806,  my  mother  was 
married.  She  was  the  first  member  of  the  family  who 
joined  the  Methodists,  but  the  entire  family  followed  her 
example. 

My  mother  was  born  May  23, 1781.  In  our  family  there 
were  three  children  :  Hettie,  the  eldest,  was  born  April  3, 
1807,  and  was  married,  in  1829,  to  Mr.  George  McCullough, 
for  many  years  a  merchant  in  Cincinnati.  My  second  sister, 
Elizabeth,  was  born  February  2,  1809.  She  was  of  delicate 
health,  but  a  woman  of  clear  intellect  and  more  than  or- 
dinary genius.      She  was  married  to  a  physician  named 


10  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Scoles,  who  became  a  Methodist  minister.  She  gave  birth 
to  one  son,  a  very  promising  boy,  who  lived  to  be  about 
five  years  of  age.  In  1833  she  died,  a  devoted  and  lovely 
Christian.  Never  shall  I  forget  how  calmly  and  peacefully 
she  passed  away  near  sunset  one  summer  evening.  She 
now  rests  in  the  cemetery  of  Cadiz.  I  was  the  third  child, 
and  was  born,  as  already  stated,  June  21, 1811. 

From  the  time  of  the  marriage  of  my  father  and  mother 
and  of  their  beginning  housekeeping,  both  of  them  being 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  their  house 
was  a  home  for  travelling  preachers,  and,  in  the  lack  of 
church  accommodations,  the  place  of  class-meetings  and  oc- 
casional preaching.  At  the  time  of  my  birth  my  father 
was  in  feeble  health.  Both  he  and  my  mother  consecrated 
me  to  God,  and  their  prayer  was  that  if  he  should  see  fit 
to  call  me,  I  might  be  made  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Pass- 
ing westward  in  1811,  Bishop  Asbury  stopped  at  my  father's 
house,  and  Father  Boehm,  in  his  reminiscences,  states  that 
he  remembers  Bishop  Asbury's  baptizing  the  little  boy, 
though  I  remember  to  have  heard  my  mother  say  that  she 
was  not  clear  who  had  baptized  me.  She  was  in  such 
trouble  on  account  of  my  father's  sufferings  and  approach- 
ing death  that  these  things  passed  from  her  mind.  She 
remained  in  Pittsburgh  only  a  short  time  after  my  father's 
decease,  and  then  the  family  returned  to  their  former  home 
in  Cadiz,  where  I  was  brought  up. 

Of  my  early  childhood  I  have  heard  but  little.  My 
mother  thought  me  exceedingly  active,  and  hence,  unusual- 
ly troublesome ;  and  during  my  father's  illness,  when  I  was 
not  yet  a  year  old,  and  when  she  was  harassed  with  cares, 
at  every  opportunity  I  would  make  for  the  open  door  or 
stairway  and  go  tumbling  down  the  stairs  or  the  stone 
door-steps,  and  was  often'  picked  up  with  scarcely  breath 
remaining  in  me.  She  one  day  said  to  a  friend,  who  after- 
wards playfully  twitted  her  about  it,  that  it  would  be  a 
mercy  if  I  should  die,  as  she  did  not  believe,  if  spared,  I 


LEARNING    TO  READ  AND    WRITE.  H 

would  ever  have  any  sense.  She  often  spoke  of  one  pecu- 
liarity— my  delight  in  noise  and  excitement ;  in  the  fiercest 
storm  I  was  anxious  to  have  the  door  open,  and  would  laugh 
with  childish  glee  at  the  thunder  and  lightning. 

I  was  not  sent  to  school,  but,  seeing  my  sisters  with  their 
books,  I  was  anxious  to  read  also ;  and  beginning  of  my  own 
accord,  I  learned  the  alphabet  and  some  spelling,  and  at 
three  years  of  age  could  read.  My  memory,  which  extends 
to  about  that  period,  finds  no  trace  of  the  time  when  I 
could  not  read.  I  can  well  remember  when  from  four  to 
six  years  of  age,  if  ministers  staying  at  the  house  asked  me 
if  I  could  read,  how  astonished  I  was  at  such  questions.  In 
the  same  way  I  learned  early  the  elements  of  arithmetic, 
and  I  recollect,  on  a  removal  of  the  family  from  one  house 
to  another,  when  I  was  between  four  and  five  years  of  age, 
finding  an  old  copy  of  the  multiplication  table  which  had 
once  been  set  for  me,  and  my  running  it  over  as  a  remi- 
niscence of  a  matter  which  seemed  long  past.  There  were 
then  a  few  places  in  the  table  that  were  a  little  difficult  for 
me,  and  at  which  I  hesitated,  and  in  after-life  I  have  occa- 
sionally found  myself  hesitating  at  the  same  places  that 
troubled  me  then. 

In  my  early  years  I  was  rather  restrained  from  than 
urged  to  my  books,  for  my  health  was  delicate.  When 
about  seven  years  of  age,  I  attended  school  for  a  few  months, 
learning  arithmetic  and  the  elements  of  grammar.  Between 
nine  and  ten  I  attended  a  select  school  for  two  short  pe- 
riods, studying  grammar  and  geography;  this  was  all  the 
time  spent  in  school  until  I  attended  an  academy  to  learn 
the  classic  languages.  From  my  earliest  childhood  I  had 
an  intense  desire  to  read.  In  Cadiz  a  public  library  had 
been  opened,  to  which  I  had  access,  and  between  five  and 
ten  years  of  age  I  had  read  a  large  number  of  its  volumes 
of  travels,  history,  and  biography. 

As  a  boy,  while  I  disliked  writing,  I  had  a  still  stronger 
repugnance  to  declamation,  which  was  one  of  the  duties  en- 


12  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

joined  while  studying  grammar.  I  could  easily  commit  to 
memory,  but  I  disliked  exceedingly  to  stand  up  and  repeat 
some  other  person's  thoughts ;  and  this  repugnance,  joined 
with  a  feeble  voice  and  an  entire  indifference  to  the  study 
of  elocution,  made  my  schoolmates  say  that  I  could  study, 
but  that  I  could  not  speak.  At  that  time  the  practice  in 
all  the  schools  was  to  recite  in  classes  and  to  trap,  and  in 
all  exercises  which  were  of  that  character  my  ambition 
made  me  eager  to  be  at  the  head,  a  place  which  I  very  gen- 
erally succeeded  in  keeping ;  or,  if  I  was  not  first,  I  was  very 
near  first.  This  imparted  an  interest  to  spelling ;  and  there 
were  occasionally  given  by  the  teacher  spelling-schools,  as 
they  were  called,  or  evenings  when  the  young  people,  meet- 
ing, would  choose  sides,  and  beginning  with  comparatively 
easy  words,  would  go  on  until,  finally,  one  by  one,  they  were 
spelled  down,  and  one  side  or  the  other  was  declared  victor. 
I  think  that  partly  from  an  attachment  to  these  exercises 
I  acquired  a  great  accuracy  in  spelling  at  a  very  early  age. 
From  the  earliest  period  of  my  memory  religious  ideas 
were  deeply  impressed  upon  my  mind.  The  instructions  I 
received  from  my  mother  and  from  my  uncle,  and  the  re- 
ligious services  at  which  I  was  present,  so  influenced  my 
heart  that  I  had  a  deep  reverence  for  God ;  and  often,  if  I 
was  conscious  of  any  error  or  act  of  impropriety,  did  I  in 
early  childhood  pass  through  seasons  of  severe  mental  suf- 
fering. Many  times  have  I  lain  awake  at  night  thinking 
of  divine  truths,  and  especially  of  that  question  which  all 
hearts  will  turn  over,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?" 
"And  how  to  come  to  Jesus?"  What  I  was  to  believe,  and 
how  I  was  to  believe,  were  questions  that  deeply  moved  me. 
The  habit  of  prayer,  which  my  mother  taught  me,  I  never 
forsook;  and  while  guilty  of  many  childish  indiscretions 
and  youthful  follies,  such  was  the  influence  of  parental  in- 
struction and  of  God's  holy  word  (which  I  read  regularly 
from  my  childhood  up),  and  such  the  influence  of  God's  house, 
which  I  attended,  that  I  can  say,  to  the  praise  of  God's  grace. 


PLEASURE  IN  MATHEMATICS.  13 

I  seldom,  if  ever,  committed  any  outward  act  which  would 
have  brought  censure  upon  me  as  a  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  "With  a  heart  as  prone  to  evil  as  any  other,  I 
was  restrained  from  every  word  or  act  of  either  profanity 
or  licentiousness,  and  never  engaged  in  what  are  termed  by 
Christians  sinful  amusements,  though  exceedingly  fond  of 
all  boyish  sports.  In  running,  jumping,  wrestling,  shooting 
with  a  bow  and  arrow,  flying  kites,  and  all  exercises  which, 
boys  in  town  or  in  country  then  engaged  in,  I  tried  to  excel, 
and  as  these  tended  to  develop  my  body  or  to  occupy  my 
mind,  I  was  encouraged  in  most  of  them  by  my  friends. 

My  taste  for  arithmetic  was  very  decided.  At  school  I 
felt  it  to  be  a  drudgery  to  write  down  in  a  book,  as  was 
then  the  custom,  what  are  termed  the  "  sums,"  in  order  to 
preserve  them  for  reference.  It  seemed  to  me  that  work- 
ing a  problem  or  finding  the  solution  of  a  question  once,  I 
was  able  to  master  it  again.  But  while  I  disliked  the  labor 
of  writing,  I  was  fond  of  working  out  the  longest,  the  most 
intricate  and  perplexing  problems,  and  often,  at  home,  I 
spent  all  my  leisure  time  for  days  in  working  at  them,  rather 
than  ask  for  the  slightest  assistance  from  those  who  were 
more  skilled.  In  this  way  I  mastered  perfectly  the  entire 
arithmetical  course,  and  laid  the  foundation  for  whatever 
accuracy  and  skill  in  computations  I  afterwards  gained.  A 
work  on  surveying,  embracing  the  elements  of  geometry 
and  trigonometry,  was  put  into  my  hands  when  quite  a  boy, 
and  gave  me  special  delight,  and  was  mastered  without  a 
teacher  except  occasional  suggestions  from  my  uncle,  who 
was  a  superior  mathematician,  and  from  whom,  at  home,  I 
could  receive  all  the  benefits  to  be  expected  from  the  most 
capable  instructor  in  college.  When  about  eight  years  of 
age,  at  that  time  being  pretty  well  acquainted  with  English 
grammar,  I  wished  to  study  German.  My  uncle  had  a  Ger- 
man Bible  and  an  old  German  grammar,  and  without  the 
aid  of  a  dictionary,  but  by  comparing  the  English  Bible 
with  the  German,  I  managed  to  read  the  German  Bible 


14  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

through  and  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  that 
language.  In  family  worship  every  morning  I  was  ex- 
pected to  read  the  German  copy,  while  my  uncle,  or,  in  his 
absence,  my  mother,  read  in  the  English,  and,  after  the  close 
of  worship,  to  note  whatever  differences  I  might  find  in  the 
texts.     This  was  continued  for  several  years. 

My  father,  at  his  death,  had  left  a  little  property  finely 
situated  in  the  town,  but  the  maintenance  and  education  of 
a  young  family  had  exhausted  a  part  of  his  resources.  Dili- 
gent industry  and  strict  economy  were  required  of  each 
member  of  the  family.  I  enjoyed,  in  addition  to  our  library, 
which  was  not  of  large  dimensions,  but  well  selected,  the 
advantages  of  the  public  library  to  which  I  have  referred, 
and  access  to  the  libraries  of  several  friends  who  had  collec- 
tions of  choice  works.  To  ministers  of  our  church,  lodging 
at  my  mother's,  I  early  listened,  not  only  for  the  news  af- 
fecting the  Church,  but  for  information  upon  general  literary 
and  theological  topics  ;  sometimes  I  had  the  privilege  of  hear- 
ing discussions  between  them  and  my  uncle.  Some  of  them 
were  men  of  very  superior  minds  and  of  much  general  in- 
formation, though,  in  that  day,  few  of  them  had  enjoyed 
the  advantages  of  exact  scientific  or  literary  culture.  In 
addition  to  this  my  uncle,  under  whose  care  I  was  educated, 
was  somewhat  in  political  life,  having  been  for  a  number  of 
years  one  of  the  judges  of  the  county  court,  and,  for  some 
ten  years,  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  State  of  Ohio ;  while 
another  uncle,  in  the  same  town,  my  mother's  brother,  was 
clerk  of  the  court  for  thirty  years,  and  in  constant  associa- 
tion with  the  members  of  the  bar.  Still  another  brother  of 
my  mother  was  for  several  years  the  editor  and  publisher 
of  our  county  paper.  These  associations  gave  me  unusual 
opportunities  for  coming  into  contact  with  the  best  minds 
of  that  part  of  the  country.  When  but  a  little  boy  I  usual- 
ly attended  the  sessions  of  the  court,  and  closely  Avatched 
the  order  of  business  and  listened  to  the  pleadings  of  the 
lawyers.     Such  men  as  Tappan,  Wright,  Hammond,  Good- 


AMBITIOUS  TO  LEARN  LATIN.  15 

enough  were  in  their  prime,  and  I  have  never,  in  any  part 
of  the  country,  seen  a  court,  I  think,  whose  attorneys  were 
equal  orators.  In  listening  to  the  judges,  I  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  general  principles  of  law  upon  almost  all  points, 
a  knowledge  which  I  have  since  found  to  be  of  great  service 
to  myself,  though  I  scarcely  knew  how  I  had  acquired  it. 

"With  the  fondness  of  boyhood  for  trying  everything  new, 
I  familiarized  myself  with  all  the  details  of  printing,  learned 
to  set  type  and  to  perform  all  parts  of  the  work  as  then 
practised  in  a  small  office,  until  I  gained  an  expertness  that 
led  to  my  being  called  upon  for  help  when  any  emergency 
arose.  This,  too,  came  to  my  assistance  when,  in  later  life, 
I  was  called  to  conduct  one  of  our  Church  periodicals.  In 
reading  works  of  history  and  literature,  I  found  quotations 
from  the  Latin  and  Greek,  and  I  longed  to  understand 
these  languages.  But  my  friends  thought  these  were  need- 
ful only  for  the  few  who  have  wealth  and  time  for  study, 
or  who  wish  to  enter  a  profession,  but  that  for  one  in  hum- 
ble circumstances  and  with  ordinary  prospects  a  purely  busi- 
ness education  was  enough.  There  was  an  academy  in  our 
town,  and  I  often  looked  upon  the  boys  who  went  to  and 
from  it  with  envy,  wishing  I  could  enjoy  advantages  like 
theirs.  When  between  eleven  and  twelve  years  of  a<re 
events  occurred  which  very  unexpectedly  opened  my  way 
to  classical  studies.  My  uncle  had  kept  up  the  manufacture 
of  weavers'  reeds,  but,  as  his  health  was  poor,  he  was  unable 
to  work  much  at  the  business,  although  he  had  invented  and 
erected  special  machinery  for  the  purpose.  A  partner  was 
taken  about  a  year  before  this  time,  and,  young  as  I  was,  I 
not  only  shared  in  the  labor,  as  I  had  strength,  but  chiefly 
kept  the  accounts.  This  partner  had  taken  in  as  boarders 
two  young  men  who  were  attending  the  academy  and  study- 
ing Latin.  I  frequently  visited  their  room,  turned  over  the 
leaves  of  their  Latin  books,  talked  with  them  about  the  study, 
and  tried  my  hand  at  rendering  Latin  into  English,  as  I  had 
done  with  the  German.    Finding  me  able  to  comprehend  the 


16  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

principles  of  language,  these  students  urged  my  friends  to 
allow  me  to  begin  the  Latin,  but  the  way  did  not  open. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November,  however,  just  as  my  un- 
cle was  about  leaving  for  Columbus,  to  attend  the  sessions 
of  the  Senate,  of  which  he  was  then  a  member,  the  wife  of 
the  partner  was  taken  suddenly  ill,  and,  at  their  earnest  re- 
quest, these  young  students  were  taken  into  our  family  for 
a  short  time,  until  she  should  recover.  The  request  of  the 
young  men  that  I  should  study  was  renewed,  one  of  them 
promising  his  assistance.  I  obtained  the  privilege  of  spend- 
ing my  spare  time  in  study  on  condition  of  my  first  doing 
every  day  the  half  of  a  man's  work  in  the  shop.  This  con- 
dition I  accepted  gladly.  My  uncle  left  home,  as  I  have 
said,  the  last  of  November,  and  returned  the  middle  of  Feb- 
ruary. In  that  time,  in  addition  to  performing  my  daily 
tasks,  which  were  never  omitted,  I  had  studied  Ross's  "  Latin 
Grammar,"  read  "  Historia  Sacra,"  four  books  of  Ca?sar, 
and  a  large  part  of  Sallust's  "  Catiline,"  and  found  myself 
sitting  side  by  side  with  the  young  men  who  had  begun 
some  eighteen  months  before  me.  On  his  return  home  my 
uncle  wished  to  know  what  I  had  learned,  and  called  upon 
me  to  read,  and  finding  I  could  render  Latin  so  easily, 
I  was  permitted  to  attend  the  academy.  During  the 
following  summer  and  winter  I  did  so,  and  finished  the 
Latin  course  and  also  studied  the  Greek  Grammar.  It 
became  evident  that  I  could  have  but  one  summer  term 
at  the  academy  for  my  Greek,  and  this  was  a  short  term 
of  a  little  over  four  months.  In  the  vacation  I  had  read, 
for  my  own  pleasure,  a  number  of  chapters  in  the  Greek 
Testament,  and  was  put  with  a  classmate  commencing  the 
"  Gra3ca  Minora."  He  was  a  boy  of  moderate  ability,  pleas- 
ant disposition,  rich  parentage,  and  a  brother-in-law  of  the 
Presbyterian  minister  in  our  place.  He  was  fonder  of 
amusement  than  of  his  studies.  Knowing  it  to  be  my  last 
session,  I  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  advance  rapidly,  and 
finding  he  would  not  exert  himself  I  begged  to  be  permitted 


BEGINS   THE   GREEK.  17 

to  proceed  alone.  The  teacher  of  the  academy  at  that  time 
was  John  McBean,  then  studying  medicine  and  nearly  pre- 
pared to  practice,  a  man  of  fine  education  and  of  more  than 
ordinary  talents.  He  at  first  refused,  as  my  plan  would  in- 
crease his  labor,  but  after  two  or  three  weeks  he  yielded. 
The  practice  was  to  write  compositions  on  every  Saturday, 
and  though  I  disliked  the  exercise,  yet  becoming  deeply  in- 
terested in  my  favorite  project,  I  on  one  Saturday  prepared 
a  composition  representing  two  boys  who  set  out  to  climb 
the  Hill  of  Knowledge.  They  had  an  able  and  experienced 
guide  who  tied  them  both  together.  One  of  them  was  ear- 
nest to  see  all  that  could  be  seen  on  the  hill,  and  anxious  to 
breathe  the  pure  air  upon  the  top.  The  other  was  easily 
tired  and  disposed  to  rest  by  the  way,  thinking  he  had  time 
enough  by  and  by  to  look  at  its  sights.  The  one  who  was 
anxious  to  gain  the  top  pleaded  often  with  his  guide  to  let 
him  go  on,  but  the  guide  refused,  advising  him  to  hunt  for 
choice  pebbles  or  to  gather  some  flowers  by  the  way  while 
his  mate  was  resting.  After  the  reading  of  the  composition 
the  teacher  smiled,  called  me  to  him,  and  said  I  might  recite 
on  Monday  as  far  as  I  chose.  The  result  was  that  in  the 
remainder  of  that  summer  session  I  finished  the  "  Graeca 
Minora,"  read  the  first  volume  of  the  "  Graeca  Majora,"*  a 
part  of  the  poetry  of  the  second  volume,  and  a  number  of 
books  of  Homer,  completing  what  was  then  marked  out  in 
the  neighboring  colleges  as  the  entire  Greek  course.  At 
the  examination,  the  minister  Avhose  brother-in-law  I  had 
succeeded  in  leaving  thought,  and,  perhaps,  very  naturally, 
that  I  must  be  exceedingly  superficial,  and  he  would  test 
my  knowledge.  This  I  believe  he  did  to  his  full  satisfac- 
tion, as  in  a  most  rigorous  examination  I  happened  to  pass 
through  without  mistake,  though  in  one  or  twro  instances  he 
challenged  the  rendering  I  gave,  but  in  each  case  I  was  sus- 

*  These  old  collections  of  Greek  prose  and  j)oetry  were  in  all  the  col 
leges  of  that  time.  The  "  Majora  "  bristled  with  Latin  notes,  some  of 
them  as  tough  for  a  boy  as  the  Greek  text  itself. 

2 


18  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

tained  by  my  teacher.  The  work,  however,  was  such  as  I 
would  not  recommend  to  any  other  young  student.  I  had 
confined  myself  closely  at  an  age  when  I  was  growing  rap- 
idly. The  study  of  the  Greek  at  that  time  was  wholly 
through  the  Latin ;  my  lexicon,  an  old  Schrevelius,  was 
printed  in  very  small  type  and  on  very  poor  paper,  and  the 
result  was,  I  was  troubled  with  inflammation  of  the  eyes 
and  a  pain  in  the  head  for  several  years  afterwards. 

In  order  to  improve  my  health  as  far  as  possible,  I  spent 
much  of  the  next  two  or  three  years  in  the  open  air,  espe- 
cially in  the  summer,  in  planting  and  ploughing  and  har- 
vesting. I  still  worked  in  the  shop,  and  the  partnership 
which  I  have  mentioned  being  dissolved,  I  had  the  manage- 
ment of  what  business  was  done.  In  addition  to  my  regular 
labor  I  studied  algebra,  the  elements  of  which  I  had  learned 
some  years  before,  began  the  study  of  French,  read  French 
somewhat  extensively,  and  also  did  something  with  Spanish 
and  Italian.  To  these  I  added  the  study  of  botany,  begin- 
ning with  Barton's  large  work,  and  the  study  of  chemistry 
and  geology.  At  the  request,  also,  of  my  uncle,  who  was 
clerk  of  the  court,  I  practised  penmanship  and  made  such 
improvement  that  I  became  his  assistant  in  making  up  the 
court  records. 

"When  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  my  uncle  Simpson 
opened  a  select  school  in  which  were  taught  both  the  ele- 
mentary and  higher  branches.  Here  I  assisted  him,  teaching 
grammar,  geography,  arithmetic,  and  some  higher  studies, 
and,  in  his  absence,  taking  the  entire  management  of  the 
school.  Thus  working  part  of  the  time  in  the  shop,  occa- 
sionally writing  in  the  county  clerk's  office,  assisting  in  the 
school,  and  pursuing  some  branch  of  study,  I  spent  my 
life  until  the  summer  of  1828,  when  I  was  a  little  more 
than  seventeen  years  of  age.  About  that  time  the  Eev. 
Doctor  Charles  Elliott,  who  was  professor  in  Madison  Col- 
lege, at  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  a  small  institution  then 
under  the  control  of  the  Pittsburgh  Conference  of  the  Meth- 


STARTS  ON  FOOT  FOR   COLLEGE.  19 

odist  Episcopal  Church,  visited  Cadiz  and  lodged  at  our 
house. 

He  was  deeply  interested  in  promoting  higher  education  in 
the  Church,  and  finding  that  I  had  enjoyed  some  advantages 
and  was  thirsting  for  knowledge,  he  urged  me  to  come  to 
Madison  College.     Finding  what  my  attainments  were,  and 
that  I  had  practical  experience  as  a  teacher,  and,  though 
young,  was  both  thoughtful  in  my  manner  and  regular  in 
my  habits,  he  offered  me  a  position  as  an  assistant  teacher 
for  some  classes.      Dr.  Homer  J.  Clark,  also  of  the  Ohio 
Conference,  was  then  acting  as  agent,  and  about  the  same 
time  passed  through  our  town.     He  was  trying  to  raise 
money  for  the  college,  and  he  likewise  urged  that  I  should 
try  to  pursue  a  collegiate  course.    They  were  the  first  min- 
isters of  our  Church  whom  I  had  met  with  who  were  finely 
educated.     A  number  of  years  before  Yalentine  Cook  had 
spent  a  little  time  in  our  home,  and  in  family  prayer,  as 
was  his  custom,  read  out  of  the  Greek  Testament,  which  he 
always  carried  with  him,  translating  as  he  read.     With  this 
exception,  I  had  met  with  no  classical  scholar  in  our  minis- 
try, nor  do  I  believe  there  was  any  one  in  all  that  region  of 
country,  connected  with  the  Church,  who  had  enjoyed  any 
classical  advantages.     When  it  was  proposed  that  I  should 
go  to  college,  the  inquiry  was  raised  among  many  of  my 
friends,  what  purpose  I  had  in  view,  and  what  profession  I 
designed  to  enter.     About  the  first  of  November,  however, 
I  was  ready  to  start.     Uniontown  was  over  ninety  miles 
from  Cadiz.     There  was  no  stage-road  through  our  town, 
nor  was  there  any  public  conveyance,  and  my  means  were 
so  narrow  that  I  judged  it  best  to  make  the  journey  on  foot. 
So,  tying  up  what  clothes  I  needed  and  a  few  books  in  a  lit- 
tle bundle  which  I  carried,  I  set  out  for  college  with  eleven 
dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  in  my  pocket.     I  made  the 
whole  journey  on  foot,  travelling  in  the  most  economical  way, 
and  arrived  at  Uniontown  on  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day. 
Mv  ideas  of  college  life  were  somewhat  exalted.     I  ex- 


20  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

pected  to  find  young  men  of  superior  minds  and  large  attain- 
ments, professors  who  had  mastered  the  whole  range  of  science 
and  would  take  me  by  the  hand  as  a  giant  would  lead  a 
little  child.  I  shall  never  forget  the  feelings  with  which  I 
approached  the  town,  and  my  meeting  some  of  the  students 
and  wondering  what  kind  of  a  reception  I  should  have.  I 
was  cordially  welcomed  by  Dr.  Elliott,  and  invited  to  board 
in  his  family.  I  began  the  study  of  Hebrew,  or,  rather, 
joined  a  class  reviewing,  having  prosecuted  its  study  at 
home;  entered  a  class  with  Dr.  Fielding,  reviewing  geom- 
etry; and  assisted  Dr.  Elliott  with  his  classes  in  the  lan- 
guages, and  when  he  wTas  absent  from  home,  sometimes  for 
two  or  three  weeks,  I  took  charge  of  his  entire  department. 
There  were  some  four  or  five  boarders  in  his  family, 
among  whom  was  his  brother,  Simon  Elliott,  afterwards  a 
distinguished  minister  in  the  Pittsburgh  Conference,  and 
also  an  older  brother.  These  and  one  or  two  others  read 
the  Bible  in  family  prayer,  and  the  plan  was  adopted  of 
each  one's  reading  from  a  Bible  in  a  different  language 
from  the  rest — the  Vulgate,  the  Septuagint  as  well  as  the 
Hebrew,  and  the  French,  and  German.  After  prayer,  the 
various  readings  of  the  several  versions  wTere  a  subject  of 
more  or  less  extended  conversation.  Being  of  a  timid  dis- 
position, I  associated  very  little  with  the  students,  except  in 
the  classes  in  which  I  recited  or  taught,  and  formed  very 
few  acquaintances  in  the  town.  At  that  time  Dr.  Bascom 
wTas  nominally  professor  of  belles-lettres  and  intellectual 
philosophy,  but  there  were  no  regular  classes  in  these 
studies,  and  he  simply,  being  on  the  circuit,  occasionally 
visited  the  college  and  delivered  a  few  lectures  on  mental 
philosophy.  Professor  Fielding  had  charge  of  the  math- 
ematics, and  was  one  of  the  clearest  and  ablest  teach- 
ers in  that  department  I  ever  knew.  He  inspired  his  stu- 
dents with  an  earnest  love  for  their  work,  and  took  spe- 
cial interest  in  such  as  showed  aptitude.  A  young  man 
who  was  studying  law  in  the  town  was  acting  as  tutor. 


ELECTED  COLLEGE   TUTOR.  21 

He  afterwards  became  a  judge  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh. 
As  he  was  about  finishing  his  course  he  resigned  the  tutor- 
ship, to  take  place  at  the  close  of  the  fall  term.  On  the 
recommendation  of  the  Faculty,  I  was  elected  tutor  for  the 
rest  of  the  year.  Returning  to  Cadiz,  however,  during  the 
holidays— walking  again  the  whole  length  of  the  way— I 
found  such  a  change  in  the  circumstances  of  the  family  as 
seemed  to  make  it  necessary  that  I  should  remain  at  home. 
I  was  obliged  reluctantly  to  give  up  my  college  pursuits 
and  the  tutorship  to  which  I  had  been  promoted. 

My  stay  at  the  college  was  very  short,  only  twTo  months, 
and  yet  it  gave  me  what  I  had  long  coveted— a  knowledge 
of  college  life.  I  found  that  professors,  while  they  were 
men  of  learning,  were  yet  but  men.  My  college  life  and 
the  views  which  I  then  entertained  were  sketched  in  a 
letter  addressed  to  my  uncle,  dated  November  30,  when  I 
had  been  not  quite  four  weeks  in  the  institution.  I  give 
the  following  extract : 

'•Here,  at  Mr.  Elliott's,  I  have  good  boarding,  and  find  both  himself 
and  Mrs.  Elliott  quite  agreeable.  I  pay  for  everything  but  my  board ; 
to  wit:  coal,  candles,  washing;  room  with  four  or  five  students,  some 
of  whom  are  quite  agreeable  in  their  manners,  others  not  quite  so  much 
so.  At  the  college,  on  account  of  the  shortness  of  the  days  and  the 
inclemency  of  the  weather,  there  is  but  one  session  in  the  day,  beginning 
at  nine  and  ending  at  three.  Mr.  Elliott's  work  in  the  school  consists, 
first,  of  grammatical  exercises,  including  Latin  and  Greek  Grammar  and 
"  Mair's  Introduction ;"  then,  four  classes  in  reading :  to  wit,  "  Graeca 
Majora,"  Virgil,  Cicero,  and  Greek  Testament.  Of  these,  he  attends 
to  the  grammatical  exercises  and  also  my  Hebrew,  "Grseca  Majora," 
and  Virgil.  He  gets  through  about  twelve  or  one,  and  leaves  me  to 
attend  to  Cicero  and  the  Greek  Testament.  Upon  rainy  days  or  when 
he  is  from  home,  I  have  the  management  of  the  whole  of  his  depart- 
ment, and  he  has  been  several  days  from  home  since  I  came  here.  He 
advised  me  to  read  over  the  current  lessons,  and  in  what  time  I  could 
spare  from  that  and  Hebrew  to  read  Livy,  and  if  I  found  any  diffi- 
culty to  bring  it  to  him.  I  did  so,  and  found  what  was  difficult  to  me 
was  not  less  so  to  him.  I  have  read  Livy  about  one  half  through, 
and  Tacitus  is  the  only  work  required  to  be  read,  which  I  have  not 


22  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

studied.  Mr.  Elliott  says  that  I  will  need  no  instruction  from  him  in 
Latin  or  Greek.  About  a  week  since,  on  Mr.  Fielding's  invitation,  I  en- 
tered a  class  beginning  to  review  Euclid.  We  have  now  finished  the 
first  two  books,  ami  will  finish  the  rest  by  the  time  of  examination." 

While  debating  the  question  whether  to  accept  or  decline 
the  position  of  college  tutor,  he  writes  to  his  uncle  for  ad- 
vice. The  letter  is  thoughtful,  especially  for  a  youth  of 
seventeen,  and  shows  how  closely  he  was  compelled  to  com- 
pute income  and  resources  before  determining  what  was 
best  to  do.  With  great  affectionateness  he  decides  the  case 
by  the  probable  effect  of  his  choice  upon  the  welfare  of  the 
loved  ones  at  home. 

We  give  the  letter : 

"  Madison  College,  Uniontown,  November  30, 1828. 
"The  examination  will  commence  the  twenty-second  day  of  Decem- 
ber, and  continue  three  days;  during  that  time  the  tutor  will  be  ap- 
pointed, and  I  must  have,  if  possible,  an  answer  to  this  letter  before  then. 
The  session  will  not  be  over  until  the  first  of  January,  but  I  think  it  is 
likely  I  shall  go  home  immediately  after  the  examination,  especially  if  I 
be  apjjointed  tutor.  I  think  that  there  is  very  little  doubt  that  I  can 
be  appointed.  If  the  present  one  desires  continuance  he  will  get  it,  but 
Mr.  Elliott  thinks  he  will  not  want  to  be  continued.  And  now  the  ques- 
tion is,  whether  I  shall  apply  for  the  office  or  not ;  and  upon  this  I  desire 
you  to  send  me  a  letter,  and  let  me  know  what  is  your  judgment  upon 
that  subject.  If  you  think  that  it  would  be  better  for  me  to  continue 
here,  so  send  me  word,  and  if  you  think  not,  let  me  know  that,  and  also 
send  Mr.  Elliott  a  letter  stating  as  a  reason  for  my  non-continuance,  dis- 
appointment in  circumstances  at  home,  so  that  he  may  not  think  hard 
of  me.  You  can  now  better  judge  how  you  can  make  out  in  my  absence, 
having  had  the  trial  of  it,  than  you  could  when  I  was  with  you.  The  ad- 
vantages to  be  derived  from  being  tutor  are,  improvement  in  Latin  and 
Greek,  and  probably  in  eighteen  months  I  could  get  a  diploma,  and  per- 
haps this  might  open  the  way  to  some  preferment.  Upon  the  other 
hand,  the  expenses  will  be  considerable,  and  I  am  afraid  more  than  you 
can  spare,  and  be  comfortably  situated  at  home.  I  could  enjoy  myself 
here  very  well,  if  you  and  the  rest  could  be  comfortably  situated;  but 
I  could  not  without  that  were  the  case.  And  also  after  having  spent 
the  time  and  money  here,  I  should  run  the  risk  of  being  no  nearer  the 
attainment  of  any  business  than  I  now  am.     The  tutor's  fees  will  be  one 


RETURNS  TO    CADIZ.  23 

hundred  dollars,  including  tuition,  that  is  eighty  dollars  clear,  which  is 
eight  dollars  a  month.  Boarding  here  is,  on  account  of  the  price  of  grain, 
one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  week,  washing  twenty-five  cents,  so  that 
counting  four  and  a  half  weeks  to  the  month,  that  will  be  seven  dollars 
and  eighty-seven  and  a  half  cents  per  month,  leaving  only  twelve  and  a 
half  cents  for  incidental  expenses,  such  as  shoe-blacking,  mending,  etc. 
So  that  the  whole  expense  of  my  clothing  will  come  upon  you,  except 
what  I  could  earn  in  the  two  months  of  the  vacation.  Remember,  in  esti- 
mating this,  to  count  everything — shoes,  hat,  stockings,  coat,  pantaloons, 
vests  (handkerchiefs,  pocket  and  neck),  shirts,  etc.  I  may  be  mistaken, 
but  I  think  that  the  expense  will  be  about  fifty  dollars  per  year;  but  of 
this  you  can  judge  better  than  I  can. 

"I  also  think  that  if  I  had  a  good  common  school,  with  a  few  Latin 
or  Greek  scholars,  I  would  advance  as  much  in  real  learning  as  I  would 
here  and  be  tutor.  These  facts  I  submit  to  you  to  form  what  opinion 
upon  them  you  may  think  proper.  For  my  own  part,  if  you  think  that, 
taking  all  things  into  consideration,  it  is  better  for  me  to  leave  this  at 
the  end  of  the  session,  and  not  to  apply  for  the  tutorship,  I  will  not  think 
that  my  time  here  has  been  misspent ;  but,  upon  the  contrary,  I  shall  think 
that  I  have  received  very  important  advantages.  I  have  paid  good  at- 
tention here  to  all  their  forms  and  rules,  and  I  think  that  by  the  prac- 
tice I  have  now  had  and  will  have  this  session,  I  shall  be  more  compe- 
tent to  teach,  and  also  shall  have  more  confidence  in  my  own  ability. 
But  I  am  comfortably  situated  here,  and  therefore  am  well  satisfied  to 
stay,  if  you  can  be  also  comfortably  situated  at  home.  But  my  happiness 
will  be  dependent  on  yours,  and  therefore  if  it  will  incommode  you  for 
me  to  be  here  I  cannot  enjoy  myself  and  be  here.  I  wish  you  among  you 
to  consult  upon  these  things  and  do  what  you  think  best,  and  if  I  am  to 
stay,  so  write,  and  if  not,  besides  writing  to  me,  write  also  to  Mr.  Elliott, 
as  I  before  stated.  But  write  as  decisively  as  the  nature  of  the  circum- 
stances will  permit,  and  also  let  me  know  how  matters  are  at  home,  how 
business  comes  on,  etc.,  also  whether  Hetty  officiated  at  that  wedding, 
etc.  Tell  her  that  I  will  try  to  have  the  French  pronunciation  before  I 
come  home.  Giving  my  respects  to  grandmother  and  all  friends, 
"  I  remain  your  affectionate  and  obedient  nephew, 

"M.  Simpson. 
"Mr.  Matthew  Simpson." 

One  or  two  hundred  dollars  more  at  this  critical  moment  of 
his  life  would  have — not  changed  his  destiny — but  changed 
its  complexion  for  a  term  of  years.  It  seems  a  pity  that  all 
the  means  of  culture  he  could  reach  were  only  such  as  were 


24  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

afforded  by  a  college  in  its  most  rudimentary  stage,  imper- 
fectly organized,  imperfectly  equipped,  and  that  even  these 
could  be  enjoyed  for  no  longer  time  than  a  few  months. 
Here  was  a  youth  with  an  insatiable  hunger  for  knowledge, 
and  with  very  unusual  capacity  for  its  acquisition.  Brave, 
hopeful  as  he  was,  he  could  not  by  any  arithmetic  he  knew 
make  one  hundred  dollars  do  the  work  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  Uncle  and  mother  he  must  not  burden,  rather  he 
must  be  helpful  to  them.  So  he  turns  his  face  homeward, 
.  walking  again  over  the  roads  by  which  he  came ;  but 
"  where  there  is  a  will,  there  is  a  way,"  and  he  had  the  will. 

AVe  now  resume  his  own  narrative : 

Shortly  after  my  return  home,  my  eldest  sister,  who  had 
been  assisting  my  uncle  in  teaching,  was  married,  and  my 
services  were  needed  to  keep  up  the  school.  It  was  also 
thought  best  to  transfer  it  from  a  private  room  to  the  acad- 
emy which  I  had  formerly  attended,  and  higher  classes  were 
added.     I  devoted  to  it  the  greater  part  of  my  time. 

The  Conference  sat  that  summer  in  Wheeling,  in  the 
month  of  July,  and,  anxious  to  see  the  professors  from 
Uniontown,  I  visited  Wheeling.  On  Sunday  I  listened  in 
the  morning  to  a  sermon  by  Bishop  Soule,  and  in  the  after- 
noon to  an  ordination  sermon  of  remarkable  power,  preached 
by  Dr.  Elliott,  which  made  a  deep  impression  upon  my 
mind.  On  Monday  morning  I  attended  the  conference  ses- 
sion and  listened  to  some  very  beautiful  remarks  from 
Bishop  McKendree.  He  was  then  quite  advanced  in  years, 
was  growing  frail,  spoke  in  a  voice  low  but  exceedingly 
sweet  and  musical.  He  gave  a  little  narrative  of  the  work 
in  the  conferences  which  he  had  visited,  of  some  precious 
revivals  that  were  in  progress  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  of  his  personal  experience,  which  was  clear  and 
joyful,  and  urged  the  ministers  to  entire  devotion  to  their 
ministry.  He  referred,  in  giving  a  narrative  of  his  journey, 
to  the  fact  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  say  so  much  on  those 
subjects  now  as  formerly,  since  the  Christian  Advocate  and 


A   CAMP-MEETING   NEAR    CADIZ.  25 

Journal  had  been  started,  which  would  inform  the  preach- 
ers of  what  was  in  progress.  From  the  address  I  received 
the  impression  that  before  the  establishment  of  our  church 
papers  the  bishops  were  in  the  habit  of  giving  to  the  dif- 
ferent conferences  they  visited  information  respecting  the 
Church  at  large.  I  enjoyed  a  pleasant  interview  with  Dr. 
Bascom  and  Dr.  Elliott,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  learn- 
ing that  quite  a  number  of  the  youth  with  whom  I  had 
been  associated  had  been  the  subjects  of  a  powerful  revival, 
and  gave  promise  both  of  deep  piety  and  of  great  useful- 
ness. In  all  this  I  rejoiced,  although  I  was  not  then  a 
member  of  the  Church. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  a  camp -meeting  was  held  in 
Dickersons  neighborhood,  some  three  miles  from  Cadiz. 
I  attended  on  Sabbath  and  returned  home  on  the  same 
evening,  but  one  of  my  sisters  desiring  to  remain,  I  prom- 
ised to  return  on  Monday  evening,  after  the  close  of 
school,  and  accompany  her  home.  Keturning  on  Monday 
evening  to  the  camp -ground,  I  found  that  a  remarkable 
religious  interest  had  appeared  during  the  day,  and  that 
several  boys  and  young  men,  some  of  whom  had  been  very 
wild,  were  awakened.  My  sister  was  anxious  to  stay  until 
after  evening  service,  and  I  consented.  Some  of  these 
young  men  I  saw,  and  with  some  of  them  I  conversed,  and 
immediately  felt  anxious  that,  by  some  means,  proper  in- 
fluences should  be  thrown  around  them  to  preserve  them 
from  the  temptations  to  which  I  knew  they  would  be  ex- 
posed. I  attended  the  evening  service,  but  was  not  spe- 
cially interested  until,  at  the  close  of  the  service,  those  who 
were  seeking  religion  were  invited  forward.  A  large  num- 
ber went,  and,  among  them,  some  of  these  whom  I  have 
mentioned.  I  felt  deeply  interested  in  the  scene,  and  won- 
dered why  I,  who  had  been  so  religiously  educated  and 
whose  life  had  been  so  guarded  by  Christian  influences, 
should  not  experience  the  same  religious  emotions  as  they. 
I  drew  near  to  the  railing  and  was  standing  absorbed  in 


26  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

thought,  when  I  saw  a  short  distance  from  me,  standing 
near  the  railing,  a  young  man  of  religious  family  with 
whom  I  had  formed  a  pleasant  acquaintance,  but  who,  like 
myself,  was  not  a  professed  Christian.  The  thought  sud- 
denly occurred  to  me  that  possibly  while  I  was  not  beino- 
benefited  he  might  be,  and,  making  my  way  through  the 
crowd  to  him,  I  laid  my  hand  gently  on  his  shoulder  and 
asked  him  if  he  would  not  like  to  go  forward  for  prayer. 

His  head  immediately  dropped,  the  tears  started  from  his 
eyes,  and  he  said  to  me  that  he  would  go  if  I  would  go 
with  him.  I  led  him  forward,  found  a  place  where  he  could 
kneel,  and  I  knelt  down  beside  him.  There  was  much  ex- 
citement, and  while  I  purposed  to  be  religious,  still,  being 
of  a  cooler  temperament  than  many,  while  others  wept  and 
prayed  earnestly  I  could  not  but  listen  to  all  that  occurred 
around  me.  I  was  sincere,  wished  to  be  a  servant  of  Christ. 
but  did  not  feel  any  special  earnestness  of  spirit.  The 
young  man  was  shortly  after  converted,  and  lived,  and  I  be- 
lieve died,  a  faithful  member  of  the  Church.  At  the  close 
of  the  meeting  I  returned  home,  said  but  little  about  my 
determination,  but  was  firmly  resolved  from  that  day  that, 
at  the  next  opportunity,  I  would  unite  with  the  Church, 
which  I  did.  About  four  weeks  from  this  time,  at  the  first 
visit  of  our  minister,  I  went  to  a  morning  class,  as  I  had 
resolved  to  act  without  excitement,  and  in  the  class-room 
gave  my  name  for  membership  in  the  Church.  Having 
done  so,  I  became  intensely  anxious  to  benefit  in  every  pos- 
sible way  the  young  men  who  were  the  subjects  of  the  re- 
vival. I  proposed  a  young  men's  prayer-meeting ;  there 
having  been  previously  only  one  young  man  a  member  of 
the  Church,  we  applied  to  him  to  be  our  leader.  This 
meeting  was  kept  up  for  some  time,  and  was  productive  of 
great  good.  As  I  did  not  enjoy  any  consciousness  of  my 
acceptance  with  God,  it  was  a  cross  for  me  to  engage  in  the 
exercises  of  a  prayer-meeting,  and  yet  I  felt  it  to  be  a  duty. 
The  first  evening  I  thought  I  would  prepare  a  form  of 


OPENS  A  SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  27 

prayer  and  write  it  out,  but  failed  to  commit  it  properly  to 
memory,  and  when  called  on  to  lead  in  prayer  my  prepared 
words  all  escaped  me  and  I  was  worse  troubled  than  if  I 
had  not  attempted  any  preparation.  It  was  the  first  and 
last  prayer  I  ever  attempted  to  write  for  delivery. 

I  thought  that  a  Sunday-school  ought  to  be  opened 
in  the  town;  for,  at  that  time  there  was  none.  Two 
or  three  efforts  had  been  made  the  year  before  to  start  a 
general  Sunday-school  in  some  school-house ;  this  was  well 
attended  for  two  or  three  Sabbaths,  but  was  abandoned  in 
a  few  weeks.  I  conversed  with  two  or  three  young  men, 
and  we  resolved  to  start  a  school  in  the  fall — a  thing  then 
thought  to  be  wholly  impracticable.  We  pledged  ourselves 
to  each  other  that  we  would  attend  whether  we  had  any 
scholars  or  not.  We  asked  the  use  of  the  Methodist  church, 
a  small  frame  building,  but  found  great  difficulty  in  getting 
permission.  Some  members  of  the  church  thought  that  day- 
schools  were  sufficient,  that  teaching  was  not  proper  work 
for  Sunday,  that  the  church  would  be  soiled  by  the  children 
and  rendered  unfit  for  service ;  but  we  at  last  succeeded  in 
getting  the  use  of  it,  and  started  our  school.  It  began  with 
some  half-dozen  scholars,  but  has  not  been  abandoned  from 
that  day  to  this.  The  next  spring  a  Sunday-school  was 
started  in  another  church,  and  it  was  found  that  several 
could  be  held  without  interfering  with  each  other.  My 
Uncle  Tingley  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  school,  and  I  was 
anxious  to  procure  a  Sunday-school  library.  At  that  time 
our  Book  Concern  published  but  few  Sunday-school  books 
proper,  but  they  offered  to  Sunday-schools  at  cheap  rates 
the  old  magazines,  half-bound,  and  other  religious  books 
generally  a  little  below  the  ordinary  price.  My  uncle 
headed  the  subscription  list  with  ten  dollars,  and  by  going 
to  citizens,  though  it  cost  me  many  a  pang,  for  it  was  the 
first  subscription  of  any  kind  I  ever  attempted  to  raise — 
my  first  attempt  to  ask  money  for  the  Church — I  succeeded 
in   securing   something  over  sixty   dollars,  purchased   the 


28  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

whole  set  of  magazines,  and  Question  and  other  books  for 
the  school,  and  thus  helped  it  to  get  a  permanent  foothold. 

In  the  summer  of  1830,  I  found  my  health  seriously  af- 
fected— from  close  application  to  study,  from  attending  night 
meetings  (and  oftentimes  with  cold,  damp  feet),  and  meet- 
ings of  literary  associations  in  which  I  took  an  interest — with 
a  severe  pain  in  the  head,  attended  with  inflammation  of  the 
eyes,  the  most  unpleasant  symptom  being  a  sense  of  occa- 
sional dizziness  and  fulness  in  the  head.  By  a  rigid  course 
of  treatment  these  symptoms  were  partially  removed,  but  I 
felt  that  instead  of  devoting  myself  to  general  study  with- 
out any  special  object,  it  became  my  duty  to  select  some 
profession  for  life.  I  had  thought  of  the  law,  being  familiar 
Avith  court  methods,  but  having  some  doubt  how  far  a  Chris- 
tian might  engage  in  ordinary  practice,  and  having  also  the 
conviction  that  I  never  could  make  a  popular  public  speaker, 
I  selected  the  profession  of  medicine,  and  entered  as  a  stu- 
dent in  the  office  of  Dr.  McBean,  my  former  teacher  in  the 
classics.  Under  his  direction  I  spent  about  three  years  in 
study,  at  the  same  time  supporting  myself  chiefly  by  my 
pen  in  the  clerk's  office,  and  also  pursuing,  as  far  as  my 
health  would  permit,  other  studies.  During  these  three 
years  I  practised  writing  to  some  extent  in  order  to  form  a 
style.  I  had  never  taken  pleasure  in  composition,  but,  be- 
lieving it  my  duty  to  turn  my  attention  to  it,  I  attempted 
poetical  and  occasionally  humorous  and  other  pieces  in  order 
to  give  myself  facility  of  expression.  Some  of  these  youth- 
ful attempts  were  published  in  the  county  paper,  its  editor 
being  one  of  my  friends,  and  I  having,  also,  access  to  the  office, 
and,  not  unfrequently,  in  his  absence,  charge  of  the  editing. 

In  April,  1833,  I  completed  the  study  of  medicine,  hav- 
ing read  all  the  works  prescribed,  and  passed  my  exami- 
nation before  the  medical  board,  organized  under  the  laws 
of  Ohio.  At  that  time  very  few  medical  students  attended 
lectures,  but  read  under  preceptors,  and  enjoyed  such  facili- 
ties as  their  practice  afforded.    Dr.  McBean  left  Cadiz  short- 


ASKED    TO   PREACII  A    TRIAL   SERMON.  29 

ly  after  I  began  reading  with  him  and  removed  to  Freeport. 
Before  finishing  my  course  I  spent  a  few  weeks  in  Freeport 
making  a  final  review  and  undergoing  re-examinations.  Dur- 
ing this  time,  one  morning,  Dr.  Elliott,  then  on  a  visit  to  his 
friends  in  Ohio,  rode  up  to  the  hotel  opposite  the  doctor's 
office  and  alighted  for  breakfast.  The  hour  of  his  stay  I 
spent  very  pleasantly  with  him  talking  over  former  associa- 
tions. Our  conversation  turned  especially  upon  the  educa- 
tional facilities  which  ought  to  be  afforded  to  our  youth,  and 
the  doctor  urged  me  to  engage  in  some  specific  literary 
work,  but  before  the  conversation  ended  asked  me  if  I  did 
not  think  I  was  called  to  preach.  I  said  to  him  frankly  that 
I  had  had  thoughts  upon  the  subject,  but  that  I  had  in  my 
own  conscience  decided  to  obey  the  action  of  the  Church ;  I 
intended  to  do  what  I  could ;  I  had  devoted  my  life  to  the 
service  of  God,  but  I  designed  simply  following  the  openings 
of  his  providence.  If  the  Church  desired  me  to  preach  I  be- 
lieved the  way  would  be  opened  without  any  agency  of  mine. 
I  had  been  licensed  a  few  weeks  before  as  an  exhorter, 
and  had  spoken  in  the  Church  at  Cadiz  on  a  few  occa- 
sions. On  his  return,  in  a  short  time,  through  Cadiz  he 
had  an  interview  with  the  minister,  and  I  received  a  notifi- 
cation that  I  had  been  recommended  for  license  as  a  local 
preacher,  and  that  I  was  desired  to  attend  the  next  Quarter- 
ly Conference,  which  sat  at  New  Athens,  for  examination. 
I  attended  the  quarterly  meeting,  and,  on  Saturday,  the  pre- 
siding elder,  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  asked  me  to  preach,  which  I 
declined  to  do.  lie  insisted  that  it  was  necessary  for  the 
members  of  the  conference  to  know  my  qualifications  as  a 
speaker  before  they  would  license  me.  I  said  to  him  that 
if  he  could  show  me  any  rule  in  the  Discipline  authorizing 
persons  to  preach  before  they  were  licensed,  I  would  yield, 
but  otherwise  he  must  excuse  me,  as  I  bad  determined  that 
I  would  take  no  step  towards  the  ministry  unless  called  out 
by  the  Church.  As  he  could  not  show  me  any  rule  in  the 
Discipline  requiring  a  trial  sermon  he  ceased  importuning' 


30  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSOJf. 

mc,  but  said  it  was  probable  the  Quarterly  Conference  would 
not  license  me.  To  this  I  replied,  that  would  be  very  agree- 
able to  me.  The  Quarterly  Conference,  however,  met,  and 
my  case  was  laid  before  it.  I  was  examined  upon  doctrine 
and  discipline,  and  retired.  In  the  discussion  which  came 
up  upon  m}T  case,  as  I  subsequently  understood,  fears  were 
expressed  that  my  health,  which  was  very  delicate,  would 
not  be  at  all  adequate  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  that 
it  was  doubtful  whether  I  would  ever  be  a  sufficiently  able 
speaker  to  be  of  service  to  the  Church.  Others,  who  had 
known  me  from  childhood,  said  I  had  always  been  a  child 
of  Providence,  and  they  thought  it  best  to  license  me,  for  the 
reason  that  possibly  God  had  a  work  for  me  to  do.  With- 
out my  having  ever  attempted  to  preach,  I  was  licensed,  and 
recommended  by  the  Quarterly  Conference  for  admission  to 
the  Pittsburgh  Annual  Conference. 


II. 

LIFE   IN   CADIZ. 


1811-1834. 


Personal  Appearance. — Bashfulness. — The  Old  Home. — Helps  in  the  Shop 
and  Teaches  in  the  School. — Passages  from  his  Diary,  1831-1834. — 
Reads  Medicine  with  Dr.  McBean. — Is  Admitted  to  Practice  as  a  Phy- 
sician.—  Great  Variety  of  his  Occupations. — Verse-Making. — Distrust 
of  his  Ability  to  Become  a  Public  Speaker. — Makes  Known  to  his 
Mother  his  Purpose  to  Preach. — Her  Answer. — Consecrated  from  his 
Birth  to  the  Christian  Ministry. 


PROFESSOR   TING  LEY'S  RECOLLECTIONS.  33 


II. 

Besides  the  bishop's  account  of  his  boyhood  and  youth, 
we  have  accounts  from  surviving  friends,  who  were  much  with 
him  in  those  days.  As  well  as  he  might  know  what  he  pur- 
posed to  do,  and  what  he  did,  he  could  not  know  hoAV  he  ap- 
peared to  others.  We  can  look  at  his  early  life  from  another 
point  of  view,  and  we  shall  find  features  which  are  not  to  be 
found  in  his  picture,  and  of  much  of  which  he  was  wholl}" 
unconscious.  "  lie  was  very  awkward,"  says  one  informant, 
"  when  nearly  grown  up,  even  uncouth,  stooped  in  the  shoul- 
ders, but  was  an  earnest  reader  of  books."  Another :  "  We 
were  always  glad,  when  he  took  his  uncle's  place  in  the 
schoolroom,  for  we  were  all  fond  of  him  as  a  teacher ;"  of 
his  bashf  alness,  not  unmixed,  however,  with  manly  courage, 
"  I  have  it  from  his  own  lips,"  says  one  informant,  "  that  he 
was  often  driven  to  dodge  down  a  by-street  to  avoid  meet- 
ing certain  persons,  or  even  passing  the  doorways  occupied 
by  them.  He  was  especially  timid  in  the  presence  of  ladies, 
not  acquaintances."  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  small 
frame  house  in  which  the  family  lived.  Professor  Joseph 
Tingley,  his  cousin,  says  still  further  of  it  and  the  life  there  : 
"  It  was  a  small,  unpainted,  plain  frame  house  of  four  or'five 
rooms,  one  of  which  was  used  for  a  schoolroom  by  '  Uncle 
Matthew.'  This  last  was  an  addition,  probably  built  for 
the  purpose.  Upon  the  same  lot,  and  fronting  on  another 
street,  was  built  a  neat  frame  by  his  sister  Hetty's  husband, 
George  McCullough,  and  occupied  by  them  as  a  home  and 
place  of  business  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  neckwear. 
The  fashion  in  those  days  was  the  high  "  stock,"  a  necktie 
from  three  to  four  inches  wide,  stiffened  with  bristles  and 
3 


34  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPS  OK 

buckling  behind.  Uncle  Matthew  was  very  apt  in  mechanics, 
especially  in  invention,  and  at  Hetty's  suggestion  contrived 
for  her  an  ingenious  machine  for  weaving  the  bristles  into 
the  required  form.  It  was  a  great  success,  and  the  manu- 
facture of  stocks  became  quite  brisk  and  remunerative. 
Uncle  Matthew  had  previously  perfected  a  successful  in- 
vention for  manufacturing  weavers'  reeds,  which  was  not 
patented,  but  for  a  long  time  kept  secret.  It  embraced  con- 
trivances for  splitting  and  shaping  the  half-round  wooden 
strips  for  the  frame  work,  splitting  the  canes  and  dressing 
them  to  the  required  thickness,  and  for  tying  them  in  place. 
The  weavers'  reeds  thus  produced  were  far  superior  to  those 
made  wholly  by  hand,  and  found  a  ready  sale.  All  the  male 
members  of  the  family,  including  uncle,  the  future  bishop, 
Curtis  Scoles  (the  husband  of  his  sister  "  Betsy  "),  and  others, 
found  occasional  employment  in  this  private  factory. 

"  I  was  one  of  Uncle  Matthew's  pupils  during  the  active 
period  of  the  factory,  and  from  the  window  of  the  school- 
house  beheld  Cousin  Matthew  daily  busied  in  turning  the 
crank  which  drew  the  long,  pliant  strips  of  wood  through 
the  shaping-machine,  or,  at  times,  occupied  in  the  lighter, 
but  more  particular,  work  of  dressing  the  split  canes.  Both 
cousin  and  uncle  varied  their  work  by  teaching  in  the  school, 
the  latter  during  school  hours,  and  the  former  during  the 
recitation  of  certain  classes  assigned  him.  These  were  the 
higher  mathematics  and  advanced  classes  in  grammar  and 
rhetoric.  He  was  my  own  preceptor  in  these  branches,  and 
to  his  superior  instruction  in  applied  mathematics  I  attrib- 
ute my  own  subsequent  fondness  for  geometrical  studies. 
He  was  a  successful  and  much-beloved  teacher,  and  attract- 
ed many  adult  pupils  into  the  unpretentious  private  school 
in  which  he  was  only  occasionally  and  temporarily  em- 
ployed. Concerning  this  school  of  Uncle  Matthew's  I  can 
truthfully  say,  after  much  experience  and  observation,  that 
I  have  not  since  seen  it  excelled,  in  its  line.  It  was  of  ne- 
cessity an  ungraded  school,  but,  as  such,  it  was  a  model 


PASSAGES  FROM  HIS  DIARY.  35 

school.  I  have  seen  no  "normal  principle,'1  so  called,  that 
had  not  its  prototype  in  this.  Uncle  Matthew  was  apt  in 
illustration,  a  good  disciplinarian,  kind  and  gentle  with  his 
pupils,  though  at  times  seemingly  severe  with  the  unruly. 
His  corporal  punishment  was  a  stroke  or  two  upon  the  open 
palm  with  the  flat  side  of  a  light  pine  "  ruler,'1  aptly  named. 
"  Cousin  Matthew  "  was  never  under  the  necessity  of  admin- 
istering punishment.  He  was  too  greatly  feared  and  re- 
spected, and,  moreover,  his  mode  of  instruction  forbade  in- 
attention by  reason  of  its  absorbing  interest." 

We  are  aided,  too,  in  getting  a  complete  knowledge  of 
this  Cadiz  life  by  the  entries,  very  brief  for  the  most  part, 
made  in  a  diary  begun  by  young  Simpson  in  the  year  1831. 
His  college  career  was  already  two  years  overpast,  and  he 
was  looking  out  upon  life  with  a  sense  of  uncertainty,  not 
to  say  hopelessness.  His  health  was  broken,  no  doubt  from 
over-exertion,  and  he  was  persuaded  that  he  would  meet  an 
early  death.  I  will  copy  a  few  passages,  enough  to  show 
his  spirit  and  manner  of  life.  Some  of  them  touch,  and 
very  sweetly,  upon  his  inner,  spiritual  state ;  others  show 
the  unusually  wide  range  of  his  occupations.  They  reveal, 
too,  the  every-day  occupations  of  a  democratic  community 
slowly  consolidating : 

"  Jan.  21, 1831.— This  day  I  am  twenty.  The  one  fifth  of  a  century 
Has  elapsed  since  I  was  born.  In  that  period  I  have  but  been  acquiring 
necessary  information  for  a  journey  which  I  shall  probably  never  take. 
Though  I  am  young,  I  feel  in  myself  the  shafts  of  death.  But  since  the 
future  is  hid  from  our  view,  and  we  are  commanded  to  improve  our 
talents  while  here,  in  what  manner  can  I  best  fulfil  the  purposes  of  my 
creation  ?  Surely  not  by  repining,  surely  not  by  sitting  down  in  de- 
spondence, and  closing  my  eyes  ere  their  light  shall  have  departed.'' 

Evidently  he  is  resolved  to  make  a  brave  fight  for  life, 
fills  his  hands  with  work,  both  in-doors  and  out-of-doors, 
teaches,  studies  medicine,  works  in  the  county  clerk's  office, 
helps  the  editor  of  the  village  newspaper,  takes  his  turn  at 
harvesting,  and  what  not.     On  the  whole  we  must  say  that, 


36  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

for  a  young  man  supposing  himself  to  be  dying,  he  is  tre- 
mendously energetic.  He  has  already  tried  precise  plans  for 
the  distribution  of  time,  with  the  usual  result  of  failure,  and 
already,  at  twenty,  has  become  cautious.  "  Could  I  accus- 
tom myself  to  it,  I  would  wish  to  adopt  rules  like  the  fol- 
lowing :  Eise  at  four,  spend  one  hour  in  exercise  and  devo- 
tion •  then  read,  or  pursue  lawful  business,  etc.  But,  alas ! 
I  have  often  endeavored  for  a  time  to  do  something  like 
this,  yet  I  always  gave  way.  I  forbear  laying  down  any 
more  until  I  try  rising  regularly  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning/' 

And  so  the  young  man  puts  on  himself  the  yoke  of  John 
Wesley's  daily  regimen,  and  finds,  as  his  fathers  had  found 
before  him,  that  he  cannot  bear  it,  and  in  time  wisely  casts 
it  off. 

"Friday,  June  25. — The  doctor  thinks  that,  by  strict  care  and  active 
exercise,  I  may  recover. 

Wednesday,  June  29.  —  This  evening  prayer  -  meeting  was  at  our 
house;  pretty  large  meeting.  The  pain  in  my  side  better,  though  not 
well. 

Tuesday,  July  5. — Dismissed  my  scholars  for  harvest.  Expect  to  go 
in  the  country  to  take  fresh  air. 

Satin-day,  July  9. — Wrote  half  the  day  for  [county]  clerk.  Read  some. 
Six-o'clock  prayer-meeting. 

Tuesday,  July  12. — Went  to  McD.,  where  I  tried  harvesting.  Able  to 
stand  more  than  I  expected. 

Wednesday,  July  13. — At  Uncle  John's.  Tried  reaping,  etc.  Still  bet- 
ter than  I  expected,  but  caught  a  little  cold. 

Thursday,  July  14. — Heaped  some,  and  read  Mr.  Fletcher's  letters. 
They  are  worthy  to  be  perused  by  every  Christian,  and  will  afford  botli 
pleasure  and  profit. 

Saturday,  July  16. — Cool,  but  pleasant.  In  the  evening  put  plugs  in 
two  teeth  for  Curtis,  which  is  the  first  I  have  done.  [Medical  practice 
included  dentistry  in  those  days.] 

Tuesday,  July  19. — Reaped  oats.  I  stood  labor  beyond  my  expecta- 
tions. Thankfulness  should  fill  my  heart  when  I  reflect  on  what  the 
Lord  has  done  and  is  still  doing  for  me. 

Friday,  July  22. — Hetty's  symptoms  still  unfavorable.  O,  may  the 
Giver  of  all  consolation  fill  her  heart  with  love,  and  place  in  her  such  a 


A   YOUNG  MAN  OF  ALL   WORK.  37 

sense  of  his  goodness  as  will  calm  every  emotion  and  repress  every  rising 
murmur.  How  striking  a  difference  exists  between  the  religious  and 
the  thoughtless.  She,  although  racked  with  pain,  although  a  fever  preys 
upon  her  vitals,  is  calm  and  collected.  She  feels  that  Jesus  is  her 
friend  and  support. 

Tuesday,  July  215. — Wrote  in  clerk's  office,  and  read  some. 

Friday,  July  29. — Wrote  in  clerk's  office.  Evening,  went  to  the 
woods  to  take  fresii  air. 

Saturday,  July  30.— Wrote  in  the  forenoon  as  before  ;  afternoon,  work- 
ing in  the  air,  which  is  the  most  wholesome  for  me. 

Monday,  Aug.  1. — Court  began  its  session.  I  attended  to  see  what 
was  to  be  seen,  and  hear  what  was  to  be  heard. 

Tuesday,  Aug.  2. — Same.  This  evening  Dr.  McBean  was  with  us,  and 
directed  me  to  read  Cooper's  '  Surgery  '  next. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  3. — Attended  court,  and  read  some. 

Thursday,  Aug.  4. — Purchased  Hufeland  '  On  Scrofula.'  Court  some. 
Read  some. 

Friday,  Aug.  5. — Court  adjourned.  Had  another  talk  with  Dr.  McB. 
Read,  etc. 

Saturday,  Aug.  6. — Yesterday  Hetty  took  much  worse — palpitation 
of  the  heart  was  violent,  lasted  five  or  six  hours.  To-day  she  is  better. 
This  day  worked  out  in  the  air,  harvesting  oats. 

Monday,  Aug.  8. — Worked  again  in  the  air  a  good  part  of  the  day,  and 
read  some. 

Tuesday,  Aug.  9. — Same  as  yesterday. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  10. — Worked  out ;  six  o'clock  attended  Sunday- 
school  teacher's  meeting;  and  at  caudle-light  prayer-meeting;  lasted 
too  long. 

Thursday,  Aug.  11. — Worked  out  in  the  air.     Read  some. 

Friday,  Aug.  12. — Attended  clerk's  office.     Read  some. 

Saturday,  Aug.  13. — Attended  clerk's  office  a  part  of  the  day. 

Monday,  Aug.  15.  —  Read  in  Cooper's  'Surgery.'  Weather  rainy. 
Heard  lessons. 

Tuesday,  Aug.  16. — Forenoon  read  and  exercised.  Afternoon  tended 
clerk's  office,  which  I  continued  to  do  for  Wednesday  and  Thursday  and 
Friday  morning. 

Saturday,  Aug.  20. — Read  and  heard  lessons  in  the  forenoon.  Went 
to  the  woods  and  gathered  lobelia. 

Sunday,  Aug.  21. — Tended  Sunday-school.     Day  fine. 

Monday,  Aug.  22. — Read  some  and  exercised. 

Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday,  Aug.  23-26. — Read,  heard 
lessons,  and  exercised,  and  neglected  filling  up  my  diary. 


38  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Saturday,  Aug.  27. — This  day,  the  second  of  the  muster,  kept  store  for 
W.  Bingham.  In  the  evening  heard  our  preachers  for  this  year;  they 
-were  William  Knox  and  Thomas  Drummond. 

Monday,  Aug.  29. — Read,  etc.  Afternoon  went  in  the  country  and 
gathered  boneset,  and  found  a  plant,  square  stalk,  lanceolate,  serrate 
leaves,  close  flowers,  called  by  Barton  '  chelone.' 

Thursday  evening. — Mother  took  sick  with  bilious  fever. 

Monday,  Sept.  5.— This  day  gave  Albert  G.  Osbon  twenty  dollars  for 
the  purpose  of  purchasing  medical  books  in  the  cities  if  they  can  be  pro- 
cured low. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  6. — Mother  has  recovered  health  in  as  great  a  degree 
as  could  "possibly  be  expected  for  the  time  and  the  severity  with  which 
she  was  attacked. 

Monday,  Sept.  12. — This  day  is  general  muster.  Went  to  the  field  at 
George  Moore's ;  good  order  among  the  people  generally,  but  no  atten- 
tion paid  to  mustering  among  the  militia.  Bought  a  horse,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  riding  for  health,  for  forty  dollars,  payable  first  of  April. 

Tuesday,  Sejrt.  13. — Went  in  company  with  W.  C.  to  Rumley  to  see  the 
place,  muster,  etc.  Strange  habits,  outlandish  customs;  licentiousness, 
drunkenness,  and  blasphemy  were  very  prevalent.  Fiddling  and  danc- 
ing were  going  on  at  almost  every  wagon  of  provisions. 

Saturday,  Sept.  17. — Worked  and  heard  lessons.  Afternoon  tried  to 
cast  zinc  plates  the  size  of  copper,  but  could  not  succeed. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  20. — Rode  three  miles.  Heard  lessons,  etc. ;  exercised 
and  finished  reading  Cooper's  '  Surgery.' 

Wednesday,  Sept.  21. — Heard  lessons  in  the  morning;  at  one  started  to 
Freeport;  pleasant  ride ;  arrived  at  half-past  five;  put  up  at  Holliday's. 
Went  to  McBean's. 

Thursday,  Sept.  22.— Got  Cooper's  'Surgical  Dictionary'  of  McBean. 
Started  at  eight;  an  agreeable  journey;  safe  home  at  one.  Afternoon 
heard  lessons,  etc.     Read  some  in  Cooper's  '  Surgical  Dictionary.' 

Tuesday,  Sept.  27. — Rainy.  Read  some  and  wrote  in  clerk's  office. 
At  night  had  Dr.  McBean  with  us. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  28. — My  time  besides  hearing  lessons  was  taken  up 
with  hearing  election  news. 

Thursday,  Sept.  29.— Same  ;  evening  helped  open  election  returns. 

Friday  and  Saturday. — Heard  lessons  and  wrote  in  clerk's  office. 

Monday,  Oct.  24. — This  day  court  commenced,  and  I  assisted  the  clerk. 
Same  all  the  week. 

Monday,  Oct.  31.— A.  G.  Osbon  requested  me  to  attend  Reuben  Allen, 
who  had  bilious  fever,  while  he  went  to  Pittsburgh,  and  I  consented. 
Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  Friday,  Saturday  I  attended  him  three 


MEDICAL  STUDIES  AND   VERSE-MAKING.  39 

times  a  day.  Saturday  evening  Albert  came  Lome.  Reuben  had  got 
some  better. 

Monday,  Nov.  7. — This  morning  court  was  called  on  special  business. 
Saw  Dr.  McBean  ;  assisted  clerk  some  and  rode  out. 

Friday,  Dec.  2. — Wrote  subscription  papers  for  petition  for  Bingham  as 
judge. 

Monday,  Dec.  12. — This  day  attended  clerk's  office;  in  consequence  of 
the  indisposition  of  Uncle  Tingley,  I  went  to  see  him;  I  found  him  in 
bed ;  upon  my  entrance  he  reached  his  hand  to  me ;  I  pressed  it  and 
inquired  bow  he  felt.  He  replied,  'The  Lord  has  blest  my  soul.  Last 
night  I  was  very  sick,  but,  thank  him  for  siqjporting  grace,  I  feel  almost 
willing  to  say,  now  let  me  depart.'  I  was  indeed  wonderfully  struck  ; 
it  was  such  a  contrast  to  the  feelings  and  conversation  of  others  whom 
I  had  lately  seen  afflicted.  It  caused  me  to  see  more  and  more  forcibly 
the  beauty  of  religion,  and  made  me  ready  to  exclaim,  '  O  Lord,  thou 
art  my  God.'  Yet  it  made  me  feel  sorrowful  that  I  had  not  that  clear 
sense  of  my  standing  which  I  could  wish.  '  O  God !  create  a  clean 
heart  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me.' 

Saturday,  Dec.  17. — This  day  was  extremely  severe  indeed.  Finished 
reading  Cooper's  'Surgical  Dictionary.'  Began  'Materia  Medica'  to 
rill  the  time  till  I  could  see  McBean. 

Friday,  Dec.  23. — Endeavored  to  abstain.*  Oil,  that  the  good  Lord  would 
enable  me  to  abstain  from  all  sin,  and  keep  a  conscience  void  of  offence  ! 
I  feel  that  much  I  need  more  religion ;  much  I  long  after  the  evidence 
of  my  acceptance  with  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  For  though  I  cannot 
doubt  for  a  moment  his  goodness  and  loving-kindness  to  me,  yet  clouds 
seem  to  hem  in  my  prospects,  and  prevent  me  from  enjoying  that  union 
and  communion  which  my  soul  so  much  desires,  and  without  which  I 
am  unhappy. 

Saturday,  Dec.  24. — Wrote  in  part  a  New-Year's  address  for  James 
Meek,  Wheeling. 

Sunday,  Dec.  25. — This  morning  rose  at  four  o'clock  and  attended  meet- 
ing at  five,  in  commemoration  of  the  birth  of  my  Saviour.  Pleasant, 
though  not  lively.  Preaching  at  eleven,  afterwards  general  class;  a 
very  lively  and  profitable  meeting.  '  How  sweet  a  Sabbath  thus  to 
spend.1 

Monday,  Dec.  26. — Rose  at  half-past  four.  Finished  my  address  for 
James  Meek  and  sent  it  by  Nathan  Summers  to  Jeremiah  Knox,  and 
began  to  write  one  for  Cadiz. 

*  It  was  a  Methodist  custom  of  that  period  to  fast  part  of  every  Friday, 
especially  on  the  Friday  before  quarterly  meeting. 


40  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  27. — Rose  at  quarter-past  four.  Read  and  wrote.  Heard 
lessons,  etc. 

Wednesday,  Dec.  28.— Rose  at  four.  Read  and  wrote.  Still  cold  and 
stormy. 

Thursday,  Dec.  29. — Address  for  Cadiz.  Read,  etc.  A  little  headache 
in  the  afternoon. 

Friday,  Dec.  30. — Rose  quarter  after  five.  Cold.  This  day  being  the 
day  preceding  our  quarterly  meeting,  I  fasted  till  five  p.m.  and  made 
arrangements  for  going  to  the  meeting,  held  at  St.  Clairsville.  Oh,  that  I 
may  keep  myself  unspotted  from  the  world  and  all  its  pollutions. 

Saturday,  Dec.  31. — Rose  at  five.  At  eight  started  for  St.  Clairsville, 
where  I  arrived  a  few  minutes  after  twelve,  as  the  first  prayer  was  pro- 
nouncing. Rev.  J. Monroe  preached.  Mr. Drummond  exhorted;  stayed 
for  the  Quarterly  Conference,  where  I  was  made  secretary  for  the  time  be- 
ing. After  Conference  went  to  Dr.  Wish  art's  with  Rev.  Messrs.  Drum- 
mond, Monroe,  and  Lambdin,  where  I  lodged.  Here  I  saw  a  pair  of 
celestial  maps,  being  the  first  I  ever  saw. 

Sunday,  Jan.  1,  1S32. — This  day  is  New-Year.  Oh,  may  I  lay  aside 
all  my  old  evil  ways,  and  have  a  heart  thoroughly  cleansed  before  the 
Lord.  Attended  love-feast  at  nine;  had  a  pleasant  meeting;  was  particu- 
larly struck  with  the  experience  of  a  young  man.  '  I  was,'  said  he, '  on 
last  Monday  a  confirmed  Deist,  but  was  awakened  and  convinced  on 
Tuesday  evening  at  a  prayer-meeting.'  Monroe  preached  at  eleven  and 
Calendar  exhorted  ;  a  public  collection  was  raised.  I  was  sitting  in  the 
gallery,  and  Mr.  Lambdin  appointed  me  to  wait  on  the  people  in  the  gal- 
lery. I  did  so,  though  not  without  reluctance  and  confusion.  Sacrament 
was  administered,  and  meeting  closed.  At  night  Rev.  J.  Moore  preached, 
and  Calendar  and  Lambdin  exhorted,  and  meeting  closed. 

Monday,  Jan.  2. — Was  invited  to  Tallman*s  to  breakfast.  Left  St. 
Clairsville  at  half-past  ten  a.m.,  and  arrived  in  Cadiz  before  three.  Heard 
my  classes,  etc. 

Tuesday.  Jan.  3. — Read,  heard  lessons,  etc. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  4. — Read,  etc.  This  day  Dr.  McBean  was  in  town, 
but  came  not  to  see  me;  made  arrangement  for  going  down  to  him  to- 
morrow.    Finished  first  volume  of  "Materia  Medica.' 

Monday,  Jan.  9. — Cold  and  snowy  in  morning;  noon  thawing.     Fin- 
ished reading  second  volume  of 'Materia  Medica.'     This   evening  bor- 
rowed Davy's  '  Consolation  in  Travel,  or  the  Last  Days  of  a  Philosopher,' 
from  Mr.  Christy.     So  fur  as  I  have  read,  it  is  well  written ;  ingenious, 
but  rather  speculative. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  10. — Snow  and  blowing.     Commenced  reading  Dewees. 
Wednesday,  Jan.  11. — Started  at  eleven  o'clock  for  Freeport.     Cold, 


HUNTING  A   LOST   WOMAN.  41 

blowing  ride ;  arrived  at  four,  where  I  found  Uncle  W.  Tingley  aud  Mr. 
McCoy.     Spent  the  evening  with  Dr.  McBean. 

Thursday,  Jan.  12. — Tarried  at  Freeport;  Dr.  McBean  commenced  ex- 
amining me  on  surgery,  but  had  not  done  much  when  he  was  sent  for 
express.  Returned  to  the  tavern  and  read  two  volumes  of  Scott's  poeti- 
cal works,  in  seven  volumes. 

Friday,  Jan.  13. — Got  Gibson's  '  Surges,'  2  vols.,  8vo,  and  set  out  for 
home  at  half-past  nine.  The  day  was  warm  and  agreeable  overhead. 
The  ground  in  some  places  slippery,  in  consequence  of  a  very  rapid 
thaw ;  arrived  home  at  quarter-past  two. 

Saturday,  Jan.  14. — Heard  lessons,  etc.  Dr.  McBean  came  in  town  to 
a  special  court;  had  him  to  dinner;  pleasant  conversation. 

Monday,  Jan.  16. — Spent  in  reading  Gibson's  '  Surgery,'  and  taking 
notes  to  assist  my  memory.  Still  attend  to  my  regular  work  of  hearing 
lessons,  etc. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  17. — Reading  and  taking  notes  of  Gibson's  'Surgery.' 

Wednesday,  Jan.  18. — Rainy.  Read  and  took  notes,  and  commenced 
a  scrap-book.  May  all  my  endeavors  after  wisdom  be  directed  in  the 
right  channel,  and  may  I  always  remember  that  '  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning  of  wisdom.' 

Monday,  Feb.  6. — Read  and  took  notes.  My  classes  in  school  so  much 
increased  that  I  am  not  able  to  do  much  reading. 

Saturday,  Feb.  18. — Read  and  took  notes.  My  eyes  are  so  weak  that 
I  shall  have  to  desist  from  taking  notes. 

Sunday,  March  4. — At  twenty  minutes  past  two  this  morning  I  was 
roused  to  join  in  hunting  a  lost  woman.     The  circumstances  were  these: 

Mrs.  C ,  wife  of  James  C ,  an  industrious  mechanic,  had  for  some 

weeks  been  unwell,  but  not  considered  at  all  dangerous ;  was  able  to 

walk  out,  and  was  attended  by  Dr.  Wilson.     Mr.  C had  gone  to  sleep 

about  midnight,  and  between  that  and  two  o'clock  she  had  got  up  and 
gone  out  in  her  stocking  feet.  The  night  was  very  dark  and  chilly,  and 
the  ground  muddy.  We  searched  the  places  round  until  towards  day- 
light, At  daylight  the  court-house  bell  was  rung  and  people  gathered. 
About  seven  o'clock  she  was  found  in  Mr.  Jamison's  house,  about  half  a 
mile  distant;  she  had  made  a  cut  across  her  throat,  and  three  cuts  iqDon 
her  wrists,  but  fortunately  had  done  no  damage  to  herself.  It  appeared 
she  had  wandered  nearly  all  that  time,  and  waded  a  run  a  considerable 
distance,  and  also  lain  down  in  it.  She  seems  as  well  as  if  nothing  had 
happened. 

Wednesday,  March  7. — Mrs.  C seems  not  much  the  worse  for  her 

exposure,  her  mind  is  tolerably  composed.  I  am  informed  that  she  had 
been  reading   Boston's  'Fourfold  State,'  and  came  across  the  idea  that 


42  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

if  any  were  not  of  the  elect,  do  as  they  would  they  could  never  be  saved. 
She  concluded  that  she  was  a  reprobate,  got  into  despair,  and  this  led  her 
to  the  state  in  which  she  now  is. 

Monday. — This  day  court  for  our  county  commenced.  I  attended  part 
of  the  time,  and  read  some. 

Tuesday. — Same. 

Wednesday. — Same.  This  evening  had  Dr. McBean  and  Uncle  John  Simp- 
son with  us  all  night.    Dr.  McBean  commenced  examining  me  on  surgery. 

Thursday  morning. — Continued  his  examination  till  court  time. 

Tuesday,  March  18. — Read  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal.  After- 
noon, tried  with  Dr.  O to  cast  zinc  plates.    Weather  pleasant.    Went 

in  the  woods. 

Friday,  March  21. — Heard  my  class.  Went  to  Hanover  and  saw 
my  aunt  and  grandmother;  left  aunt  some  medicine.  Went  to  Mrs. 
Green's  and  saw  Ruth  Graham ;  left  directions,  and  got  home  at  five 
o'clock.  Heard  my  class,  and  attended  meeting  at  candle-light.  This 
day  I  kept  in  entire  abstinence,  praying  for  the  success  of  our  quarterly 
meeting. 

Saturday,  March  22. — At  twelve  o'clock  and  night  attended  meeting ; 
had  a  refreshing  time. 

Sunday. — At  half-past  eight  was  at  love-feast ;  a  very  refreshing  sea- 
sou.  At  eleven,  public  preaching;  half-past  three,  prayer-meeting;  can- 
dle-light, sermon.  Altogether  we  have  had  a  very  pleasant  meeting, 
and  I  hope  profitable. 

Tuesday. — Pleasant.  Attended  to  accounts.  Kept  school  all  day  yes- 
terday and  part  of  to-day  in  consequence  of  uncle's  having  a  bad  cold. 

Monday,  April  2,  1832.— This  day  was  township  election.  I  was  re- 
quested by  the  judges  to  act  as  assistant  clerk,  which  I  accordingly  did, 
besides  attending  classes;  got  done  about  eleven  at  night. 

Tuesday,  April  3. — Heard  lessons,  read,  etc. 

Wednesday,  April  4. — Same — same.    At  night  attended  prayer-meeting. 

Thursday,  April  5. — Heard  lessons,  read,  etc. 

Monday,  April  9. — Read,  heard  lessons,  etc.  Uncle  William  offered 
me  twenty-five  dollars  a  month  for  what  time  I  would  write,  if  I  would 
help  him  three  months  out  of  the  ensuing  six.  This  I  would  prefer  to 
school-keeping.  Borrowed  his  electrical  machine  to  give  Betsey  a  trial 
of  it. 

Tuesday,  April  10. — Fitted  up  the  machine,  but  it  did  not  work  well. 

Wednesday,  April  11.  —  Got  the  machine  in  good  order.  At  night 
attended  prayer-meeting. 

Friday,  April  13.— Usual  abstinence.  Read,  etc.  This  day  quit  the 
school,  as  I  have  an  offer  to  write  in  the  clerk's  office  half  my  time. 


ASSISTING    THE  COUNTY  CLERK.  43 

Saturday,  April  14. — Uncle  William  [the  county  clerk]  and  Aunt  Ra- 
chel went  to  Steubenville.     I  tended  the  office. 

Monday,  April  16. — Tended  clerk's  office. 

Tuesday,  April  17. — Read  and  exercised.     Went  out  some  to  botanize. 

Sunday,  April  22. — Was  at  class,  and  Sunday-school  is  doing  well. 
Prayer-meeting  at  night. 

Monday,  May  1. — Commenced  writing  in  the  clerk's  office,  and  contin- 
ued at  it  all  the  week. 

Monday  afternoon. — Worked  on  roads  ;  *  rainy,  showery. 

Tuesday,  May  2. — -Last  night  received  the  draft  for  our  books  and 
sent  it  on  this  day  to  New  York.  At  three  o'clock  attended  meeting  to 
raise  a  class;  a  female  class  was  raised  and  I  was  appointed  leader,  much 
against  my  wishes  and  feelings.  But  if  it  be  the  will  of  the  Lord,  I  pray 
him  to  enable  me  to  perform  my  duties. 

Thursday,  May  4. — Wrote  in  clerk's  office. 

Friday,  May  5. — Usual  abstinence.     Wrote  as  before. 

Saturday,  May  6. — Forenoon,  worked  on  roads.  Afternoon,  wrote  in 
clerk's  office.     At  night,  attended  young  men's  prayer-meeting. 

Monday,  May  8. — Wrote  in  office. 

Tuesday,  May  9. — Forenoon,  same.  Afternoon,  at  three,  attended 
class.  I  scarcely  know  what  to  write  of  this;  I  think  that  I  was  given 
some  liberty  in  speaking  to  the  class ;  but  oh,  how  lame  was  the  per 
formance ! 

June  19. — I  went  down  to  Freeport,  and  was  minutely  examined  on 
surgery.     I  returned  June  21. 

June  25  to  July  2. — Read,  preparing  myself  for  examination  in  chem- 
istry and  '  Materia  Medica.'     Also  worked  out  of  doors,  securing  hay. 

July  3. — Went  to  Freeport ;  was  examined  in  chemistry  and  '  Materia 
Medica.'  Returned  on  July  5.  Paid  Dr.  McBean  tweuty-five  dollars  in 
part  of  tuition  fee. 

Monday,  July  Hi. — Wrote;  also  Tuesday  forenoon  ;  afternoon,  attended 
class  and  read,  etc. 

Saturday,  July  21. — Wrote  till  ten;  then  worked  at  meeting-house, 
repairing  it,  till  night. 

Monday,  July  23. — Was  attacked  with  illness,  but  was  relieved  on 
Tuesday.  Wrote  in  office  rest  of  the  week.  Alarm  prevails  about 
cholera. 

Monday  and  Tuesday,  July  30  and  31. — Had  to  attend  school,  except 
an  hour  for  class;  had  a  good  season.  Uncle  Matthew  getting  consid- 
erably better. 

*  Most  likely  to  pay  his  road-tax. 


44  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Wednesday,  Aug.  1. — Sabbath-school  books  having  arrived,  I  spent  part 
of  the  day  in  opening  and  arranging  them.  The  rest  of  the  day  taught 
school.     At  night  had  a  good  prayer-meeting. 

Saturday,  Aug.  11. — I  went,  in  company  with  James  Allen  and  two 
others,  to  camp-meeting  between  Hanover  and  Rumley.  The  ground  is 
large,  and  pleasantly  situated  ;  order  is  excellent.  Sunday  congregation 
three  or  four  thousand.  Sunday  eveuing  and  night  a  powerful  stir  broke 
out;  suppose  one  hundred  mourners  were  down.  This  continued  all 
day  and  all  night. 

Monday,  Aug.  13. — Sacramental  occasion  solemn;  stir  continued  all 
day  and  all  night ;  many  conversions.  Eighty  joined  the  church  at  this 
meeting. 

Tuesday  morning,  Aug.  14. — At  eight  o'clock  left  the  ground  and  came 
home.  At  this  meeting  I  obtained,  I  humbly  trust,  some  fresh  spiritual 
strength.  I  was  enabled  in  a  greater  degree  to  yield  my  heart  to  Jesus. 
I  felt  an  application  of  these  words:  'Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  are 
weary  and  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.'  And  I  felt  in  a  good 
degree  that  I  could  come.  Peace  flowed  into  my  heart,  but  little  joy. 
Oh,  that  the  Lord  would  continue  to  carry  on  his  blessed  work  unto  per- 
fection. 

Friday,  Sept.  28. — Omitted  my  diary  writing  until  this  time.  How- 
ever, since  my  last  dates,  nothing  peculiarly  striking  has  occurred.  My 
own  religious  exercises  have  been  tolerably  uniform.  I  have  regularly 
attended  class,  and  have  had  to  lead  every  time,  as  our  preachers  have 
not  yet  arrived. 

Dec.  19. — Procrastination  is  said  to  be  the  thief  of  time,  and  so  I 
find  it.  By  putting  off  writing  from  day  to  day  time  has  thus  far  rolled 
along  without  any  entry.  Since  the  last  date  there  has  been  much  con- 
fusion in  election  matters,  much  talk  and  noise.  On  the  26th  of  last 
month  I  delivered  a  speech  on  temperance  in  the  Presbyterian  meeting- 
house, wdiich  was  published  in  the  Telegraph  of  Dec.  1.  With  regard  to 
my  studies, I  have  this  morning  finished  Goode's  'Practice  of  Medicine,' 
and  have  lately  been  engaged  in  reviewing  anatomy.  I  have  regularly 
attended  class,  and  find  it  to  be  much  to  my  spiritual  advantage,  and  I 
hope  the  members  are  all  improving.  I  have  also  spoken  a  few  times  in 
public ;  and,  though  the  cross  is  great,  I  find  action  is  necessary  to  my 
religious  life. 

Sunday,  Dec.  23. — Attended  Sunday-school,  and  preaching  by  the  Rev. 

Mr.  Mills.     At  night  had  prayer-meeting.     I  spoke  a  little  to  the  people. 

This  I  have  occasionally  done  for  some  time.     The  Lord  was  with  us, 

and  while  speaking  I  felt  much  refreshed  and  raised  from  my  lethargy. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  25. — This  was  Christmas.     Invited  some  young  people 


FINISHES  THE  STUDY  OF  MEDICINE.  45 

to  come  and  sing  hymns  before  daybreak,  to  commemorate  the  birth  of 
the  Saviour.  Had  meeting  of  Sunday-school  teachers  and  scholars  at  ten 
o'clock;  prayers,  singing,  and  I  delivered  an  address.  At  night  Ave  had 
a  refreshing  prayer-meeting. 

Sunday,  Dec.  30. — Attended  Sunday-school  and  class.  Had  Sunday- 
school  prayer- meeting.  At  night  had  prayer- meeting  ;  endeavored 
to  sjieak,  but  felt  as  if  my  words  fell  to  the  floor,  and  did  no  good.  Af- 
ter meeting  felt  much  condemned;  thought  I  had  no  religion;  felt  as 
though  I  had  no  power  in  prayer.  01),  for  the  awakening  energy  of  the 
Holy  Spirit ! 

Monday,  Dec.  31. — This  morning  felt  as  though  I  could  scarcely  attend 
class  as  a  leader  on  account  of  fears;  yet,  while  engaged  in  talking,  my 
fears  all  vanished,  my  sorrow  was  gone.  I  was  able  to  praise  the  Lord 
for  his  amazing  goodness  to  me.  We  had  an  unusually  happy  season,  and 
several  professed  great  comfort. 

New-Year's  Day,  a.d.  1834. — A  whole  year  omitted  in  my  diary.  I 
will  simply  record  some  events  which  happened  the  past  year.  In  Jan- 
uary we  had  a  revival  of  religion,  and  I  was  transferred  from  leading 
the  female  class  to  the  charge  of  a  class  principally  formed  of  the 
young  converts  and  Sabbath-school  teachers  and  scholars.  On  April 
1st,  at  a  general  class-meeting  from  which  I  was  absent,  I  received  a 
vote  for  license  to  exhort,  and  was  accordingly  licensed  by  the  Rev.  W. 
Tipton,  who  had  at  that  time  the  temporary  charge  of  the  circuit. 
Shortly  afterwards  I  went  to  Freeport  to  finish  my  study  of  medicine. 
While  there  the  Rev.  Charles  Elliott  visited  me;  and,  through  an  ar- 
rangement made  by  him,  the  Rev.  J.  Mills  brought  my  name  before  my 
class,  and  I  received  a  vote  of  recommendation  to  Quarterly  Conference 
to  preach,  the  week  before  its  session.  I  knew  nothing  of  this  till 
Thursday,  when  I  received  a  letter  stating  the  circumstances,  and  re- 
questing my  attendance  next  day  at  Athens.  I  immediately  left  Free- 
port,  attended  meeting,  and  received  license,  and  a  recommendation  to 
the  Annual  Conference.  Returned  to  Freeport,  and  the  last  of  May  or 
first  of  June  returned  to  Cadiz,  having  finished  the  study  of  medicine.  I 
returned  on  Friday,  and  on  Sunday  preached  at  Athens  and  Uniontown 
my  first  sermons.  And  I  have  continued  to  preach  nearly  every  Sabbath 
since.  Was  invited  to  deliver  an  address  at  Athens  to  the  students  Sept. 
28,  1833,  which  I  did,  and  the  students  had  three  hundred  copies  struck 
off  in  pamphlet  form.  It  was  favorably  noticed  in  the  St.  Clairsville 
nistorian.  I  practised  medicine,  and  had  tolerable  success  for  a  young 
practitioner." 

The  life  outlined  in  these  brief  notes  is  full  of  interest 


46  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

when  considered  in  respect  to  the  years  be}7ond  for  which 
it  was  a  preparation.  Unconsciously,  young  Simpson  draws 
his  own  likeness,  and  the  likeness  is  very  attractive.  It  re- 
veals a  youth  of  unusual  mental  energy,  who  makes  use  of 
all  the  helps  to  culture  within  his  reach  and  secures  from 
them  whatever  is  possible  for  him.  Teaching,  studying 
medicine,  writing  in  the  county  clerk's  office,  working  in 
the  fields,  or  on  the  road,  go  on  together,  harmonized  no 
doubt  by  an  all -compelling  will.  The  day's  task  begins 
often  in  cold  December  at  four  and  five  o'clock,  and  is  car- 
ried on  with  unwearied  persistence  till  night  comes  again. 
How  he  came  out  of  all  this  with  any  health  whatever  is 
matter  of  wonder,  but  the  strain  kept  up  so  long  in  this 
period  cost  him  years  of  acute  suffering.  In  the  church, 
though  extremely  modest,  his  activity  touches  every  point 
that  a  layman  can  touch.  A  practiced  mechanic,  he  can 
upon  occasion  do  a  little  repairing  to  the  building,  and  then 
serves  the  congregation  as  class-leader,  Sunday-school  teacher, 
and  leader  of  prayer-meeting.  The  simple,  beautiful  life  he 
is  living  is  intensely  religious.  He  is  in  dead  earnest.  No 
doubt  the  rustic  philosopher  and  saint,  his  Uncle  Matthew, 
is  near  him,  giving  friendly  counsel,  and  watching  the  growth 
of  his  pupil  with  a  pardonable  pride.  The  reverence  of 
young  Simpson  for  this  uncle  was  mixed  with  filial  affec- 
tion, and  was  one  of  the  marked  traits  of  his  disposition  at 
this  time  and  at  all  times. 

The  young  student  had  the  knack  of  rhyming,  and  could 
tag  couplets  together  with  great  facility.  Enough  of  verse 
remains  to  show  that  he  was  not  loath  to  express  himself  in 
this  way,  and  no  doubt  the  poet's  corner  of  the  Cadiz  Reg- 
ister gave  him  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  himself  now  and 
then  in  print.  Poetry  it  was  not,  and  he  seems  to  have 
had  wit  enough  to  know  the  fact,  but  making  rhymes  was 
a  good  literary  exercise,  and  that  was  enough  for  his  pur- 
pose. 

Some  verses,  however,  written  on  his  nineteenth  birthday, 


VERSE  -  WRITING.  47 

are  of  historic  value,  as  showing  his  sense  of  obligation  to 
his  uncle : 

"  But  next,  to  him  who,  in  my  father's  stead, 
Through  slippery  youth  my  sliding  footsteps  led; 
Who  strove  to  plant  within  my  tender  heart 
The  seeds  of  virtue,  knowledge,  truth,  and  art, 
I  should  express,  as  far  as  words  can  show, 
The  debt  of  love,  of  gratitude  I  owe. 

My  dearest  uncle,  how  shall  I  recite 

How  frequently  you  taught  me  with  delight, 

Commenced  with  small,  then  larger  things  explain'd, 

That  thus,  with  ease,  true  knowledge  might  be  gain'd  : 

Still  as  my  mind  began  to  gather  strength, 

And  make  excursions  of  a  greater  length, 

Your  care  increased,  then  double  your  delight, 

To  lead  me  still  to  new  and  greater  light ; 

For  minds  like  eyes,  increasing  light  can  bear, 

Though  overpowered  with  too  great  a  share." 

Obviously  his  models  in  these  effusions  were  Pope's  heroic 
couplets  and  Charles  Wesley's  hymns.  Verses  in  the  metres 
of  the  Methodist  Hymn-book  occur,  and  are  not  badly  done. 
I  find  among  the  papers  of  the  year  1831  an  essay  on 
"  Electricity,"  read,  it  is  stated,  before  the  Philosophical 
Society  of  Cadiz,  and  another  on  "  Optics,"  most  likely  pre- 
pared for  the  same  body  of  rustic  investigators.  There  is 
another  of  the  same  year  entitled, "  Description  of  the  Mo- 
tions of  the  Earth."  While  a  student  of  Madison  College, 
Uniontown,  he  tried  his  hand  at  a  Hebrew  oration,  a  des- 
perate undertaking  one  would  think  for  a  scarcely  fledged 
Hebraist.  Diagrams  still  extant  show  that  he  had  a  passion 
for  solving  hard  mathematical  problems.  Wherever  he  saw 
a  new  opening  to  knowledge  he  rushed  in  without  stopping 
to  consider  whether  he  should  ever  be  able  to  possess  the 
land  or  not.  Possibly  he  had  no  hope  of  becoming  pos- 
sessor of  many  of  these  broad  fields,  but  he  would  see  what 
was  in  them  at  least.  Of  the  acquisitions  of  this  period,  he 
retained  enough  of  German  to  serve  him  in  after-life ;  his 


48  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Latin  and  Greek  he  utilized  in  reading,  during  the  time 
he  was  professor  at  Meadville,  the  Greek  and  Latin  Church 
Fathers,  and  his  scientific  knowledge  furnished  to  his  ser- 
mons some  of  their  most  striking  illustrations.  One  might 
converse  with  him  often,  in  after-life,  Avithout  hearing  him 
mention  the  fact  that  he  had  studied  medicine ;  but  he  met 
all  the  requirements  of  the  law  of  Ohio  as  it  was  then,  and 
the  certificate  of  his  medical  preceptor,  Dr.  McBean,  states 
that  both  in  his  studies  and  in  his  examinations  he  had  ac- 
quitted himself  with  credit. 

That  a  young  man  of  such  dispositions  should  gravitate 
towards  the  Christian  ministry  was  perfectly  natural.  While 
preparing  for  another  calling,  he  must  have  questioned  within 
himself  whether  he  had  made  the  right  choice.  But  no  such 
questioning,  no  force  of  impulse  towards  the  ministerial  vo- 
cation would  have  sufficed  to  determine  his  mind.  Accord- 
ing to  the  teaching  of  the  faith  in  which  he  had  been  reared, 
only  a  call  from  heaven  could  warrant  his  assuming  these  sa- 
cred functions.  An  inward  monition,  which  he  could  refer  to 
a  divine  source,  was  waited  for.  Without  the  conviction  that 
he  was  summoned  to  this  service  by  a  higher  than  a  human 
authority  he  never  would  have  persisted  in  it,  nor  would  he 
have  accomplished  great  results.  His.  distrust  of  his  capa- 
bilities as  a  speaker  and  his  extreme  diffidence  would  have 
paralyzed  him.  He  tells  the  story  of  this  conflict  of  mind 
most  pathetically  in  his  "  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching."  Let 
us  hear  him : 

"  Trained  religiously,  I  had  come  to  a  young  man's  years 
before  making  a  public  profession  of  religion.  Occasionally, 
prior  to  my  conversion,  thoughts  of  the  ministry  sometimes 
flashed  across  my  mind,  but  it  was  only  a  flash.  After  my 
conversion  I  was  earnest  for  the  welfare  of  others,  and 
worked  in  various  ways  to  promote  the  interests  of  the 
Church  and  humanity.  The  conviction  grew  upon  me  that 
I  must  preach.  I  tried  to  put  the  thought  away,  because  I 
feared  I  could  never  succeed.     I  saw  the  greatness  of  the 


HIS  DREAD    OF  PUBLIC  SPEAKING.  49 

work,  and  the  reproach  and  poverty,  the  privation  and  suf- 
fering, connected  with  the  itinerant  ministry.  Two  special 
difficulties  were  in  my  way :  First,  I  had  no  gift  of  speech. 
All  through  my  studies  my  fellow-students  told  me  I  could 
learn,  but  I  could  never  be  a  speaker.  In  discussing  pro- 
fessions, they  thought  the  law  was  out  of  the  question  for 
me,  because  I  could  never  successfully  plead  a  cause.  My 
voice  was  poor.  I  had  always  shunned  declamation  when- 
ever it  was  possible  to  avoid  it.  I  had  an  unconquerable 
aversion  to  reciting  other  men's  words,  and  whenever  I  at- 
tempted to  declaim  it  was  pronounced  a  failure.  My  asso- 
ciates believed,  and  I  firmly  believed,  I  could  never  make  a 
speaker.  So,  when  I  felt  the  conviction  that  I  must  preach, 
the  thought  of  the  impossibility  of  preaching  successfully 
made  me  question  the  reality  of  the  call.  At  my  work  and 
in  my  studies — for  I  spent  three  years  in  preparing  for  the 
profession  of  medicine — I  was  frequently  in  mental  agony. 

';  I  think  I  should  have  resolutely  rejected  the  idea,  only 
that  it  seemed  indissolubly  connected  with  my  own  salvation. 
I  longed  for  some  one  who  could  tell  me  my  <k\ty.  I  fasted, 
and  prayed  for  divine  direction ;  but  I  found  no  rest  until  I 
read  in  the  Bible  a  passage  which  seemed  written  especially 
for  me  :  "  Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart ;  and  lean 
not  unto  thine  own  understanding.  In  all  thy  ways  ac- 
knowledge him,  and  he  shall  direct  thy  paths."  I  accepted 
it,  and  resolved  to  do  whatever  God,  by  his  providence, 
should  indicate.  I  never  lisped  to  a  friend  the  slightest  in- 
timation of  my  mental  agony,  but  began  to  take  a  more 
earnest  part  in  church  services.  One  Sabbath  I  felt  a 
strong  impression  that  I  ought  to  speak  to  the  people  at 
night  in  prayer-meeting,  as  we  had  no  preaching.  But  I 
said  to  myself :  How  shall  I  ?  My  friends  will  think  me 
foolish,  for  they  know  I  cannot  speak  with  interest.  Espe- 
cially I  dreaded  the  opinion  of  an  uncle,  who  had  been  to 
me  as  a  father,  and  who  had  superintended  my  education. 
While  I  was  discussing  this  matter  with  myself,  my  uncle 
4 


50  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

came  into  the  room,  and,  after  a  moment's  hesitancy,  said 
to  me :  '  Don't  you  think  you  could  speak  to  the  people  to- 
night V  I  was  surprised  and  startled,  and  asked  him  if  he 
thought  I  ought  to.  He  said  :  '  Yes  ;  I  think  you  might  do 
good.'  That  night,  by  some  strange  coincidence,  the  house 
was  crowded,  and  I  made  my  first  religious  address  to  a 
public  congregation.  It  was  not  written ;  it  was  not  very 
well  premeditated ;  it  was  the  simple  and  earnest  outgush- 
ing  of  a  sincere  heart.  I  was  soon  pressed  to  preach,  but 
evaded  all  conversation  on  the  subject  as  far  as  possible. 

"  My  second  difficulty  was  that  my  mother  was  a  widow  ; 
I  was  her  only  son,  and  the  only  child  remaining  at  home. 
It  seemed  impossible  to  leave  her.  I  feared  it  might  almost 
break  her  heart  to  propose  it.  But  as  I  saw  the  church 
would  probably  call  me,  and  as  I  had  promised  God  to  fol- 
low his  openings,  I  one  day,  with  great  embarrassment,  in- 
troduced the  subject  to  my  mother.  After  I  had  told  her 
my  mental  struggles,  and  what  I  believed  God  required,  I 
paused.  I  shall  never  forget  how  she  turned  to  me  with  a 
smile  on  her  countenance,  and  her  eyes  suffused  with  tears, 
as  she  said :  '  My  son,  I  have  been  looking  for  this"  hour  ever 
since  you  were  born.'  She  then  told  me  how  she  and  my 
dying  father,  who  left  me  an  infant,  consecrated  me  to  God, 
and  prayed  that,  if  it  were  his  will,  I  might  become  a  min- 
ister. And  yet  that  mother  had  never  dropped  a  word  or 
intimation  in  my  hearing  that  she  desired  me  to  be  a  preach- 
er. She  believed  so  fully  in  a  divine  call  that  she  thought 
it  wrong  to  bias  the  youthful  mind  with  even  a  suggestion. 
That  conversation  settled  my  mind.  What  a  blessing  is  a 
sainted  mother !  I  can  even  now  feel  her  hand  upon  my 
head,  and  I  can  hear  the  intonations  of  her  voice  in  prayer." 

And  so  the  loving  mother  had  hid  away  in  her  heart  this 
deepest  of  her  longings  for  her  only  son.  The  years  had 
come  and  gone,  and  still  her  lips  had  been  sealed ;  he  must 
not  know,  for  she  would  not  interfere  with  God's  right  to 
choose  the  messengers  of  his  word ;  but  in  the  silent  hours 


THE  MOTHER'S  SECRET. 


51 


of  prayer,  how  often  must  she  have  opened  her  heart's  se- 
cret to  him  with  whom  she  communed — the  Prayer-hearer ! 
And  when  this  son  had  been  led  up  to  the  choice  of  the 
vocation  to  which,  in  the  fulness  of  her  love,  she  had  con- 
secrated him,  she  could  tell  him  that  she  had  been  waiting 
for  that  hour  ever  since  he  was  born. 


THE   OLD   COURT-HOUSE   AT   CADIZ. 


III. 

HIS  TEACHERS. 


Uncle  Matthew  Simpson. — His  High  Standing  as  Teacher  and  Legisla- 
tor.—  The  Bishop's  Mother. —  Dr.  James  McBean. —  His  Kindness  to 
Young  Simpson.— Dr.  Elliott.— The  Start  on  Foot  for  Uniontown. — 
Kindly  Received  by  the  College  President.— Is  both  Student  and  As- 
sistant Teacher. — Appointed  College  Tutor. — Dr.  Elliott's  Place  among 
Methodist  Educators. — Presbyterianism  and  Methodism  in  the  Forma- 
tion of  the  State  of  Ohio. 


UNCLE  MATTHEW  SIMPSON.  55 


III. 

It  is  one  of  Thomas   Carlyle's  pregnant  sayings  that, 
"  when  a  great  soul  rises  up,  it  is  generally  in  a  place  where 
there  has  been  much  hidden  worth  and  intelligence  for  a 
long  time.     The  vein  runs  on,  as  it  were,  beneath  the  sur- 
face, for  a  generation  or  so,  then  breaks  into  the  light  in 
some  man  of  genius,  and  oftenest  that  seems  to  be  the  end 
of  it."     To  quote  him  again:   "Great  men  are  not  born 
among  fools,"  and  Bishop  Simpson  certainly  was  not.     The 
old  uncle,  under  whose  care  he  grew  up.  made  as  distinct 
an  impression  upon  the  circle  to  which  he  was  known, 
as  the  nephew  upon  the  great  world  that  knew  him.     In 
outward  condition  no   more   than   a   plain   schoolmaster, 
with  no  pretensions  to  classical  learning,  he  was  rich  in  that 
which  is  the  fruit  oC  all  learning— wisdom.     To  their  sense 
of  his  worth  his  fellow-citizens  gave  expression  by  sending 
him  for  so  many  years  to  the  Ohio  state  senate.     He  also 
served  as  associate,  or  lay,  judge  in  the  county  court.    I  have 
seen  a  letter  from  him  to  his  old  friend,  the  Hon.  John  A. 
Bingham  of  Ohio,  written  in   1865,  when  he  had  reached 
his  ninetieth  year,  which  for  clear  insight  of  national  affairs 
would  do  credit  to  any  public  man.     "Uncle  Matthew," 
says  Professor  Joseph  Tingley,  "  was  well  informed  in  the 
sciences  as  then  known,  and  it  was  his  habit  to  keep  up 
with  the  new  discoveries  of  more  recent  times,  as  far  as 
practicable.     His  store  of  information  was  really  remark- 
able, as  was  his  memory  of  all  scientific  terms,  dates,  mag- 
nitudes, etc.     He  was  my  instructor  and  referee  in  such 
matters;  and  always  correct  and  precise  in  his  opinions. 
He  was  also  an  inventor  of  many  ingenious  mechanical 


56  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

contrivances,  several  of  which  lie  put  into  successful  opera- 
tion. Under  his  direction  I  constructed  and  mounted  the 
small  telescope  which  gave  me  the  first  glimpse  of  Saturn's 
rings  and  the  belts  of  Jupiter.  He  laughed  loud  and  long 
at  my  boyish  glee,  on  Avitnessing  this  successful  result  of  his 
young  pupil's  scientific  experiment.  He  used  to  tell  how 
careful  he  was  to  watch  the  associations  of  his  foster-son. 
He  had  stepped  in  at  an  opportune  time,  when  the  father- 
less child  of  his  brother,  James  Simpson,  needed  a  fathers 
care.  No  one  could  have  performed  the  duty  with  more 
scrupulous  fidelity.  He  accompanied  him  in  his  recrea- 
tions and  walks,  and  never  allowed  him  to  '  play  out  of  his 
sight.'  In  fact,  he  discouraged  play  almost  altogether,  but 
delighted  in  making  the  young  happy  in  their  duties  and 
studies.  Matthew  was  an  apt  pupil,  and  naturally  and 
wholly  fell  in  with  this  mode  of  life." 

Of  the  standing  of  Uncle  Matthew  as  a  legislator,  Pro- 
fessor Tingley  gives  this  report :  "  In  all  difficult  cases  be- 
fore the  House,  when  his  opinion  was  called  for,  no  matter 
how  complicated  the  question,  he  would  proceed  to  unravel 
the  knotty  points,  illuminate  the  obscure  ones,  clear  away 
the  fallacies,  and  in  a  manner  entirely  satisfactory  to  all 
parties  'give  his  sentence.'  This  generally  closed  the  de- 
bate." He  was  a  member  of  the  Ohio  senate  at  the  same 
time  when  General  William  Henry  Harrison,  afterwards 
President  of  the  United  States,  was  also  a  member,  and 
used  himself  to  tell  this  story  of  their  association  with 
each  other :  "  The  General  had  made  a  thrillingly  eloquent 
speech,  and  was  receiving  the  congratulations  of  his  friends. 
I  grasped  his  hand  and  said,  '  General,  I  wish  I  had  the 
eloquence  that  you  have.'  '  Ah,'  retorted  he,  '  I  wish  I 
had  the  logic  that  vou  have.'  "  Mr.  Bingham  savs  of  him  : 
''It  was  a  peculiarity  of  Uncle  Matthew's  character  that 
he  judged  all  men  by  their  sincerity  and  truth,  without 
regard  to  their  outward  circumstances."  Such  a  charac- 
ter  is  not  the  best  for  getting  on  in  the  world,  as  we 


DR.  JAMES  McBEAN.  57 

phrase  it,  but  is  certain  to  command  the  respect  of  all  who 
love  sincerity  and  truth,  and  this  respect  Uncle  Matthew 
commanded. 

Of  Bishop  Simpson's  mother,  her  nephew,  Professor  Ting- 
ley  (she  was  his  father's  sister)  says:  "She  was  my  ideal 
saint ;  always  calm,  always  peaceful  and  happy,  always  kind 
and  cheery."  Unfortunately  no  letters  from  her  to  her  son 
remain,  and  I  fancy  that  she  did  not  write  to  him  often, 
leaving  the  correspondence,  when  he  was  away  from  home, 
to  the  uncle.  I  infer,  too,  from  a  passage  in  one  of  the  uncle's 
letters  to  his  nephew,  that  she  was  reticent,  and  in  no  way 
given  to  overmuch  expression  of  her  feelings.  "  Whether 
you  come  and  see  us  or  not,"  writes  the  uncle  (the  date  is 
Nov.  16, 1834),  "  I  hope  you  will  do  me  the  favor  to  provide 
yourself  such  socks  and  overclothes  as  will  secure  you 
against  injury  from  the  wintry  storms,  and  the  more  es- 
pecially, as  I  am  convinced  everything  that  concerns  your 
life,  health,  and  comfort  more  strongly  affects  your  mother 
than  you  might  imagine  from  the  fortitude  with  which  she 
parted  with  you.  However,  if  her  prayers  and  mine  can  do 
you  any  good,  I  think  we  never  forget  you,  probably  not 
one  hour  in  the  day." 

Dr.  James  McBean  was  a  Scotchman,  had  studied  in  Jef- 
ferson College,  Canonsburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  noted 
in  all  his  active  life  for  his  devotion  to  the  Latin  and  Greek 
classics.  During  some  years  he  taught  a  classical  academy 
in  Cadiz,  but  was  best  known  as  a  very  successful  medical 
practitioner.  He  had  moved  to  Freeport,  about  nineteen 
miles  from  Cadiz,  where  Simpson  was  his  student  in  medi- 
cine. There  the  young  man  tarried  whenever  he  visited 
his  preceptor,  and  would  spend  days  together  in  reading  and 
conversation;  whatever  of  knowledge  Dr.  McBean  had  to 
give  he  was  eager  to  absorb.  Dr.  McBean  lived  to  an 
advanced  age,  dying  in  1875.  In  a  letter  to  the  widow, 
Bishop  Simpson  thus  expresses  his  reverence  for  the  doc- 
tor's memory  : 


58  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"Philadelphia,  February  10, 1875. 

"  I  received  the  mournful  tidings  a  short  time  since  of  the  death  of 
your  husband,  and  of  my  esteemed  friend,  Dr.  McBean.  It  seemed  to 
come  very  near  my  own  heart,  as  he  was  for  so  many  years  my  teacher, 
both  in  academic  and  medical  studies. 

"  I  had  for  his  talent  and  honesty  the  highest  regard.  My  sympathies 
are  with  you  in  the  hour  of  your  bereavement,  as  well  as  with  the  mem- 
bers of  your  family,  and  I  pray  that  He  who  alone  can  cheer  and  comfort 
the  sorrowing  may  be  to  you  unspeakably  precious.  We  are  all  of  us 
approaching  the  close  of  our  earthly  existence;  years  roll  rapidly  away: 
and  as  I  look  back,  it  seems  to  me  but  a  little  while  since  I  was,  for  a 
short  time,  an  inmate  of  your  family  when  you  resided  in  Freeport,  Ohio, 
and  yet  when  I  count  the  years,  they  are  rapidly  approaching  towards 
the  half  century. 

"  Our  work  here  is  almost  accomplished,  and  the  only  thing  remaining 
is  to  act  so  wisely  our  parts  that,  when  we  are  called,  we  shall  be  ready 
to  join  the  good  and  the  wise  and  the  pure  in  the  upper  sanctuary.  May 
the  blessing  of  God  ever  abide  upon  you  and  your  family." 

Next  to  the  uncle,  to  no  one  was  Bishop  Simpson  more 
indebted  for  his  progress  in  culture  than  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Charles  Elliott.  The  doctor  always  came  into  contact  with 
the  young  man's  life  at  the  opportune  moment ;  urged  him 
to  go  to  college,  made  him  when  there  an  assistant  teacher, 
almost  forced  him  into  the  Pittsburgh  Conference,  and  rec- 
ommended him  for  the  Presidency  of  the  Indiana  Asbury 
University.  He  had  evidently  made  up  his  mind  that  this 
raw  but  eager  Cadiz  youth  was  destined  for  a  great  career. 

There  is  a  little  diary  extant,  or,  as  young  Simpson  called 
it,  "  Ephemeris,"  in  which  he  has  jotted  down  his  daily 
college  experiences  while  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Elliott.  It 
is  yellow  with  age  and  the  wear  of  the  pocket  in  which  it 
was  carried,  here  and  there  illegible,  but  tells  the  story  of 
Dr.  Elliott's  confidence  in  his  pupil.  It  is  prefaced  with  a 
few  lines,  which  describe  the  starting  from  home ;  these  I 
will  copy  as  far  as  they  can  be  read : 

"  Monday,  Nov.  3, 1828. — About  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  eight  in  the 
morning  I  bade  farewell  to  friends,  and,  in  company  with  Uncle  Mat- 
thew, advanced  as  far  as  Craig's  plantation,  where  we  parted  at  half-past 


MRS.   SARAH  SIMPSON,   THE  BISHOP'S  MOTHER. 


A    COLLEGE  STUDENT  AND  A    TEACHER.  59 

eight.  Arrived  at  Smithfield  at  twelve,  at  Wellsburg  at  [illegible].  Left 
Wellsburg  in  company  with  two  Jacksonites,  one  of  whom  was  so  pleased 
with  my  telling  him  that,  as  far  as  I  had  heard,  Jackson  was  doing  well 
in  Ohio,  that  he  alighted  and  gave  me  his  horse  to  ride  to  the  next 
tavern,  which  was  about  [illegible]  miles.  There  I  put  up  for  the  night, 
and  was  very  agreeably  surprised  in  finding  Dr.  Hodgens  there. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  4. — At  seven  in  the  morning  I  set  out  with  Dr.  Hodgens, 
who  having  [several  horses  gave  ?]  me  one  to  ride  to . 

At  eleven  left  Middletown,  and  shortly  overtook  the  Rev.  Mr.  C of 

Harrisville,  Dr.  Fowler,  and  Mr.  C on  their  journey  to  the  Radical 

[Methodist]  Convention  at  Baltimore.  Kept  in  company  with  Dr.  Fow- 
ler to  Washington,  where  he  stopped  at  quarter  of  two.  Arrived  at 
Hillsborough  at  dark ;  stayed  all  night. 

Wednesday,  Nov.  5. — Started  at  six,  arrived  in  Brownsville  at  eleven, 
where  I  purchased  stockings  and  penknife,  and  arrived  in  Uniontown  at 
half-past  four.  Found  Mr.  Elliott's ;  college  not  yet  over ;  in  a  few  minutes 
lie  came  in  and  welcomed  me  to  his  house." 

His  expense  account  for  the  journey  is  put  down  in  de- 
tail :  "  Left  Cadiz,"  he  writes,  "  with  $11.25,  Nov.  25 ;  the 
balance  in  hand,  after  buying  one  or  two  books,  and  paying 
a  trifle  on  account  of  tuition,  is  $3.50."  And  with  this 
small  sum  in  his  pocket,  the  ingenuous  youth  bravely  faces 
the  world,  expecting  to  pay  his  way  as  punctually  as  if  he 
were  the  possessor  of  thousands.  In  his  brief  cash  footings 
every  penny  is  accounted  for. 

In  the  house  of  the  kindly  Mr.  (not  yet  Dr.)  Elliott  he 
is  perfectly  at  home,  and  is  put  to  work  the  day  after  his 
arrival,  both  as  pupil  and  assistant  teacher.  He  continues 
the  "  Ephemeris :" 

"  Thursday,  Nov.  6. — Went  to  the  college  with  Mr.  Elliott ;  entered  [he 
means  was  enrolled]  as  No.  46.  Was  put  in  a  class  with  Mr.  Robert 
Crawford  commencing  the  Hebrew  Grammar.  Recited  lesson,  a.m.  ; 
heard  a  class  recite  a  lesson  in  Coasar,  p.m.  About  forty-six  scholars  in 
the  classical  department,  and  thirty  in  the  English. 

Friday,  Nov.  7. — Reviewed  the  current  lessons  at  home;  at  the  college 
recited  Hebrew  Grammar,  and  Mr.  Hamilton  [one  of  the  classical  teach- 
ers] being  unwell,  I  had  to  take  his  place  excepting  in  '  Graeca  Minora.' 

Tuesday,  Nov.  18. — Recited  Latin  Prosody  and  Hebrew  Grammar.    Had 


60  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

a  frolic  digging  potatoes  at  the  college.  Heard  '  Groeca  Majora '  and 
Virgil;  continued  reading  Livy. 

Thursday,  Nov.  20. — This  day  being  rainy,  Mr.  Elliott  could  not  attend 
the  school.  Therefore  I  attended  to  the  course,  except  Prosody,  and  re- 
cited Hebrew  to  hirn  at  home. 

Saturday,  Nor.  22. — Attended  to  the  whole  course  for  Saturday,  Mr. 
Elliott  not  attending,  except  the  Prosody.  Prepared  for  the  thirteenth 
proposition  of  '  Euclid,'  but  could  not  recite  ;  continued  Livy. 

Monday,  Dec.  1. — Rose  at  half-past  four.  Recited  Latin  Prosody,  also 
twenty-four  propositions,  third  book  of 'Euclid.'  Heard  Cicero  and 
Greek  Testament ;  continued  Livy. 

Friday,  Dec.  5. — Rose  at  quarter  before  five.  Mr.  Elliott  left  for  Pitts- 
burgh ;  I  had  then  the  management  of  his  part. 

Monday,  Dec.  8. — Rose  at  half-past  three.  Mr.  Elliott  absent ;  I  at- 
tended to  his  part.  Recited  from  fifteenth  to  thirtieth  proposition,  sixth 
book  of '  Euclid.' " 

The  last  entry  is  dated, 

"  Thursday,  Dec.  25. — This  day  beiug  Christmas,  there  was  no  school. 
At  eleven  heard  Mr.  Bascom  preach.  Received  the  appointment  of  tutor 
in  Madison  College.  Day  beautiful ;  attended  prayer-meeting  before  day- 
light." 

Charles  Elliott  deserves  a  fuller  record  than  he  has 
had,  as  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Methodist  education.  Born 
in  County  Donegal,  Ireland,  he  was  one  of  that  "innumer- 
able company"  of  Irish  schoolmasters  who  have,  through 
their  schools,  been  the  leaders  of  American  culture,  and  have 
formed  much  that  is  best  in  American  character.  Tennent, 
of  the  Neshaminy  Log  College;  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith, 
the  founder  of  Hampden  Sydney,  in  Virginia ;  John  Blair 
Smith,  the  first  president  of  Union  College,  Schenectady ; 
Wylie,  so  long  the  ornament  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  others,  whom  it  would  make  too  long  a  cata- 
logue to  name,  were  all  of  this  hardy  stock.  They  were 
energetic  drill-masters  in  Latin  and  Greek,  and  equally 
strenuous  for  the  pure  mathematics.  They  formed  the  ma- 
jority of  the  public  men  in  the  central  colonies  of  the  Union, 
and  in  those  same  colonies  during  the  first  period  of  their 


METHODISM  AND  PRESBYTERIANISM.  61 

life  as  states.  Dr.  McBean  was  the  product  of  this  Scotch- 
Irish  culture.  Bishop  Simpson  was  of  the  same  stock ; 
that  he  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  Charles  Elliott  one 
would  think  was  predestined  by  both  race  and  church  af- 
finities. Dr.  Elliott  will  remain  in  early  American  Method- 
ist history  as  the  bright  example  of  the  pure  and  simple 
scholar,  who  loved  learning  for  its  own  sake,  and  who  never 
ceased,  while  life  lasted,  from  its  eager  acquisition.  Indif- 
ferent to  office,  and  sobered  in  his  judgment  of  events  by 
the  habits  of  thought  which  come  with  culture,  he  could  be 
unpartisan,  and  yet  true  to  his  sense  of  right.  He  has  left 
an  enduring  monument  of  his  learning  in  his  masterly  "  De- 
lineation of  Roman  Catholicism." 

Such  was  the  environment  in  the  midst  of  which  young 
Simpson  grew  up,  and,  save  for  the  lack  of  better  opportu- 
nities of  special  training,  it  left  little  to  be  desired.  He  was 
in  a  new  world,  where  the  artificial  distinctions  between  man 
and  man  which  mark  old  societies  as  yet  were  not,  where 
each  citizen  was  valued  according  to  his  capability  and 
moral  worth,  where  the  necessity  of  winning  bread  by  hon- 
est labor  was  acknowledged  in  every  household,  where  moral 
earnestness  was  the  product,  as  it  always  ought  to  be,  of 
strong  religious  faith.  Cadiz  was  but  an  example  of  hun- 
dreds of  the  villages  of  Ohio.  There  had  flowed  into 
the  state  from  western  Pennsylvania  the  sturdy  Presbv- 
terianism  which  feared  God  and  feared  not  man.  In 
company  with  it  had  gone  the  fervid  Methodism  which, 
with  its  omnipresent  itinerancy,  carried  a  divine  message, 
when  as  yet  the  venturesome  settler  had  barely  reared 
the  roof  to  cover  his  head.  If  the  Presbyterian  drilled 
with  Confession  and  Catechism,  the  Methodist  roused  with 
exhortation  and  appeal.  Between  these  two  forces  a 
whole  population  was  educated  in  the  sense  of  responsibil- 
ity to  God  and  reverence  for  his  law.  Effectually,  but  si- 
lently, this  training  had  gone  on  for  nearly  a  century,  and 
when,  in  the  time  of  trial,  our  country  called  for  its  best  of 


02  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

heart  and  brain,  and  Ohio  fairly  rained  on  us  heroes  and 
capable  leaders,  it  needed  only  a  slight  knowledge  of  her 
past  history  to  make  it  clear  how  she  could  give  so  richly 
to  save  the  nation  s  life.  The  story  of  Bishop  Simpson's 
growth  in  Cadiz,  paralleled  in  thousands  of  Ohio  homes, 
solves  the  mystery. 

"  From  scenes  like  these  "  our  country's  "  grandeur  springs." 


IV. 
HIS  EARLY  MINISTRY 


1833-1836- 


His  Reasons  for  Hesitating  to  Enter  the  Travelling  Ministry. — Appointed 
to  the  Circuit  on  which  he  Lived. — Remonstrances  of  his  Friends. — 
Advantageous  Business  Offers  in  Cadiz. — Prefers  a  Six  Weeks'  Circuit, 
with  Thirty-four  Appointments. — Good  Advice  of  a  Hicksite  Quaker. 
— Much  Work,  but  Small  Pay. — Appointed  to  Pittsburgh  as  a  Junior 
Preacher.  —  Dr.  Sellers. — Appointed  to  Liberty  Street  Church,  Pitts- 
burgh.— Trying  Position,  but  Complete  Success. — Marriage. — Wishes 
to  Graduate  A.B.,  but  Receives  Unexpectedly  the  Degree  of  A.M. — 
Stationed  at  Williamsport.  —  Begins  Housekeeping. —The  House. — 
Preaching  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. — Rules  of  Life. 


HIS  FIRST  SERMON.  C5 


IV. 

Guided  by  such  leadings  of  Providence  as  we  have  de- 
scribed, the  young  physician  has  now  entered  on  another 
vocation,  and  has  given  himself  wholly  to  the  service  of  the 
Church.  We  will  let  him  tell  the  story  of  his  early  minis- 
try in  his  own  way : 

"  Though  recommended  by  the  Quarterly  Conference  for 
admission  to  the  Annual  Conference,  I  had  not  fully  resolved 
to  enter  at  once  upon  the  Avork  of  a  travelling  preacher. 
Circumstances  were  such  that  I  saw  my  way  might  be 
closed  for  the  time  being,  and  I  agreed  with  my  presiding 
elder,  the  Kev.  Mr.  Browning,  that  if  I  found  I  could  not 
travel  he  was  to  withhold  my  recommendation.  The  week 
after  the  quarterly  meeting  I  preached  my  first  sermon  in 
the  Methodist  church  in  New  Athens,  Ohio,  on  "  Walk  while 
ye  have  the  light "  (John  xii.  35),  and  in  the  afternoon  my 
second  sermon  at  Uniontown,  Belmont  County;  and  on 
Monday  morning  I  preached  at  Styer's  meeting-house,  fill- 
ing an  appointment  for  one  of  the  preachers  on  the  circuit. 
Family  circumstances  seemed  to  preclude  the  possibility  of 
ray  leaving  home.  A  sister  was  lying  ill  with  consumption, 
and  her  death  would  probably  take  place  during  the  year. 
My  mother  was  a  widow  and  I  was  an  only  son,  and  the 
only  member  of  the  family  remaining  at  home.  After  re- 
viewing the  whole  matter  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  my 
duty  was  to  stay  for  the  time  with  my  mother.  As  I  had 
finished  the  study  of  medicine,  I  made  arrangements  to  be- 
gin its  practice,  and  obtained  an  office.  I  had  accumulated 
a  handsome  medical  library,  and  I  entered  on  the  practice 
in  the  month  of  May,  1833.  As  a  young  physician,  of  course, 
5 


(JG  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

my  practice  was  small;  but  the  field  opened  much  more 
easily  and  widely  than  I  had  at  all  anticipated,  and  indi- 
cations were  not  wanting  that  I  should  have  satisfactory 
success. 

"  The  Annual  Conference  sat  in  Meadville,  Pennsylvania, 
in  July ;  and  at  this  session  Dr.  Elliott  and  other  ministers 
who  were  interested  in  me  claimed  that  the  presiding  elder 
had  no  right  to  withhold  my  recommendation,  and  that  it 
should  be  presented.  Notwithstanding  I  had  informed  him 
by  letter  that  I  could  not  take  any  appointment,  the  recom- 
mendation was  presented,  and  at  the  earnest  request  of  Dr. 
Elliott  and  others  I  was  admitted  on  trial.  The  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  my  removing  from  home  were  acknowledged, 
and  I  was  appointed  third  preacher  on  the  circuit  where  I 
lived,  it  having  been  previously  a  four  weeks'  circuit  filled 
by  two  ministers.  The  appointees  for  that  year  were  J.  P. 
Kent  and  Aurora  Calender.  On  the  return  of  the  preachers 
from  Conference  I  was  informed  of  what  had  been  done,  and 
was  requested  by  my  presiding  elder  and  preacher  in  charge 
to  devote  my  Sundays  to  preaching  in  Cadiz,  where  I  lived, 
and  in  St.  Clairsville,  the  county  seat  of  Belmont  County, 
some  sixteen  miles  away,  and  to  try  during  the  year  to 
close  my  business  and  arrange  for  taking  regular  work. 
This  action  of  the  Conference  seemed  so  providential  that  I 
resolved  to  get  ready  as  soon  as  I  could.  I  filled  the  pulpit 
on  alternate  Sabbaths  in  Cadiz  and  St.  Clairsville,  as  there 
was  preaching  there  on  but  one  Sabbath  in  two  weeks  by 
the  other  ministers.  Late  in  the  summer  of  that  year  my 
sister  died.  She  had  suffered  much,  but  was  a  beautiful 
example  of  Christian  resignation,  and  one  lovely  summer 
evening,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  she  passed  away,  leav- 
ing a  promising  little  boy  in  our  care.  Her  husband,  who 
was  then  a  physician,  shortly  after  her  decease  gave  him- 
self to  the  ministry,  and  lived  and  died  a  member  of  the 
Pittsburgh  Conference. 

"  My  appointment  by  the  Conference  took  many  of  my 


DECLINES  ALL  BUSINESS   OFFERS.  67 

friends  by  surprise,  as  they  had  supposed  that  I  was  settled 
for  life  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  I  found  a  general  remon- 
strance against  my  leaving  Cadiz.  My  uncle,  William  Ting- 
ley,  who  had  been  clerk  of  the  court  for  twenty  years,  and 
whom  I  had  assisted  in  the  duties  of  his  office,  sometimes, 
in  his  sickness,  attending  to  his  entire  work,  was  very  anx- 
ious I  should  remain.  The  members  of  the  bar,  into  asso- 
ciation with  whom  I  had  been  brought,  showed  a  deep 
interest  in  my  welfare,  and  on  their  recommendation  (as 
my  uncle's  term  was  about  to  expire,  and  he  did  not  desire 
a  reappointment)  the  judges  of  the  court  tendered  the  ap- 
pointment to  me,  if  I  would  accept  it.  The  net  profits  of 
the  office,  to  one  who  simply  supervised  and  paid  the  clerks 
to  do  the  work,  were  about  a  thousand  dollars  a  year.  In 
addition  to  that,  I  was  offered  a  partnership  in  the  practice 
of  medicine,  and  was  assured  I  could  at  the  same  time  per- 
form the  duties  of  the  clerkship,  by  having  skilled  assist- 
ance, which  was  already  at  hand.  My  friends  urged  that  I 
could  be  of  service  preaching,  as  I  might  have  strength  and 
disposition,  while  attending  to  other  duties.  These  very 
kind  and  unsolicited  offers,  however,  I  felt  were  not  in  the 
line  of  duty  for  me ;  the  local  ministry  did  not  seem  to 
be  my  sphere. 

"  I  felt  that  God  had  called  me  to  a  more  active  service, 
and  that  it  was  my  duty  to  relinquish  all  secular  business 
and  to  devote  myself  wholly  to  preaching.  Accordingly,  in 
March,  1S34,  I  closed  my  office,  and  the  circuit  having  ear- 
nestly requested  my  entire  time  to  be  spent  upon  it,  I  took 
my  horse  and  saddle-bags  and  began  travelling.  The  cir- 
cuit was  then  arranged  by  my  colleagues  as  a  six  weeks' 
circuit,  and  I  found  in  it  twenty-eight  appointments,  and  in 
the  four  months  we  added  six  others,  making  in  all  thirty- 
four.  Three  places,  owing  to  the  effect  of  what  was  termed 
''the  radical  controversy,"  which  resulted  in  the  formation 
of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  had  been  abandoned  ; 
these  were  Mount  Pleasant,  Ilarrisville,  and  Georgetown. 


68  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

In  these  three  places  I  commenced  preaching,  though  to 
small  congregations.  I  also  introduced  Methodist  worship 
into  Morristown,  some  ten  miles  east  of  St.  Clairsville, 
though  under  most  discouraging  circumstances,  the  preach- 
ing beinsr  in  a  schoolhouse  near  a  hotel.  There  was  but 
one  person  who  felt  any  interest  in  the  services,  and  he 
lived  some  two  or  three  miles  away.  The  appointment 
was  on  a  week-night,  with  a  single  tallow  candle  for  light, 
and  my  congregation  about  a  dozen  persons,  one  half  of 
whom  were  from  about  the  hotel ;  some  of  them  tipsy.  At 
the  close  of  service  one  of  these  desired  to  get  into  contro- 
versy with  me  on  the  subject  of  baptism.  AVith  the  help  of 
my  colleague,  however,  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  attending  a 
two-days'  meeting  before  I  left  the  circuit,  and  witnessed 
the  establishment  of  a  society. 

"  It  was  the  custom  at  that  day  for  the  single  men  to  give 
their  entire  time  to  travelling  on  the  circuit,  and  to  lodge 
in  the  families  of  the  members ;  nor  was  there  time  any- 
where to  take  much  rest.  I  heard  of  a  small  place  six  miles 
from  Morristown  where  there  were  two  Methodist  families 
that  desired  preaching,  and  I  sent  an  appointment  for  a 
week-day  forenoon.  I  preached  in  a  small  room  of  a  pri- 
vate house  to  a  few  hearers,  and  left  an  appointment  for 
six  weeks  from  that  date.  My  health  then  was  very  deli- 
cate, and  when  I  returned  at  the  end  of  six  weeks,  and 
preached,  I  learned  that  a  physician,  a  Hicksite  Quaker,  who 
was  generally  represented  to  be  an  infidel,  had  left  word 
that  he  wished  to  see  me,  and  that  he  thought  he  could  be 
of  service  to  me.  After  preaching  I  called  upon  him  and 
was  kindly  received.  He  said  he  had  heard  that  my  health 
was  poor,  and,  as  he  had  suffered  very  severely  himself  and 
had  succeeded  in  recovering,  he  thought  possibly  he  might 
give  me  some  useful  suggestions.  I  had  a  long  and  inter- 
esting conversation  with  him.  I  asked  his  opinion  with  re- 
gard to  my  continuing  to  preach,  as  I  had  been  advised  by 
physicians  that  my  life  was  in  danger.     He  said  as  to  the 


A  HUNDRED   DOLLARS  A    YEAR.  69 

religious  question  he  did  not  wish  to  express  himself,  but  as 
a  physician  he  believed  the  wisest  thing  I  could  do  was  to 
travel  a  circuit  that  required  me  to  ride  from  eight  to  ten 
miles  and  to  preach  once  every  day.  He  advised  against 
night  services,  against  my  becoming  warm  in  close  rooms, 
urged  some  care  in  diet,  but  said  he  thought  that  the  exer- 
cise and  the  having  of  an  object  which  would  lead  me  to  be 
much  in  the  open  air  would  greatly  benefit  me.  I  have 
often  wondered  at  the  apparently  strange  providence  which 
led  me  to  such  advice  and  under  such  circumstances  and 
from  such  a  man,  and  I  believe  the  whole  was  ordered  of 
God  for  my  good.  It  coincided  so  fully  with  my  own  con- 
victions that  I  resolved  to  follow  his  counsel,  though  other 
physicians,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  urged  me  to  desist 
altogether  from  preaching. 

"  For  my  services  during  the  year,  while  engaged  in  busi- 
ness, I,  of  course,  expected  no  compensation  whatever ;  for 
the  four  months  spent  on  the  circuit,  to  which  I  devoted 
my  entire  time,  I  had  the  claim  which  was  allowed  then  to 
a  young  man,  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  dollars  a  year. 
While  there  were  four  months  of  the  year  so  spent,  there 
was  but  one  Quarterly  Conference  held,  and  consequently 
the  time  was  counted  as  but  one  quarter.  My  allowance 
for  this  would  have  been  twenty-five  dollars,  but  there  was 
a  deficiency,  and  I  received  eighteen  dollars  and  seventy-five 
cents,  the  other  preachers  on  the  circuit  sharing  pro  rata. 
This,  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  present,  would  seem  to  be 
no  compensation  at  all ;  and  yet  I  had  no  expenses.  Travel- 
ling with  my  own  horse,  finding  entertainment  among  my 
friends  on  the  circuit,  riding  every  day,  I  was  kindly  re- 
ceived and  freely  supported ;  I  had  no  anxieties,  no  cares. 
However  defective  in  my  experience,  or  in  my  practice,  I 
had  fully  resolved  to  leave  all  for  Christ.  Friends  and 
home  and  business  had  been  given  up,  and  I  had  deter- 
mined to  choose  reproach  and  privation  and  even  suffering 
if  I  might  be  successful  in  winning  souls.     I  had  the  happi- 


7<)  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

ness  of  seeing  some  precious  meetings  during  the  year,  and 
while  there  was  no  general  revival,  there  were  persons  con- 
verted at  many  of  the  appointments. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  year  I  went  with  my  brethren  to 
conference,  at  that  time  held  in  Washington,  Pennsylvania. 
I  was  the  guest  of  Kev.  Dr.  McKinney,  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister, who  was  at  that  time  President  of  Washington  Col- 
lege, having  for  my  associate,  Rev.  S.  E.  Babcock,  who  was 
some  two  years  my  senior  in  the  ministry.  In  the  Pitts- 
burgh conference,  at  that  time,  a  course  of  study,  not  unlike 
the  present  course,  had  been  marked  out,  and  the  young 
men  were  expected  to  attend  the  Annual  Conference  to  be 
examined,  and  then  to  return  home.  After  passing  my  ex- 
amination, I  remained  a  day  or  two,  and  as  the  custom  then 
was  to  have  preaching  in  the  forenoon  and  afternoon  of 
Conference,  I  preached  at  one  morning  service  on,  '  Let  us 
lift  up  our  heart  with  our  hands  unto  God  in  the  heavens.' 
(Lamentations  iii.  41).  I  had  no  care,  personally,  what  ap- 
pointment I  should  receive ;  but  my  friends,  who  were  very 
solicitous  about  my  health,  had  urged  me  to  ask  that  I 
might  not  be  sent  to  a  station,  of  wmich  there  were  indeed 
then  very  few,  but  that  I  should  be  appointed  to  a  healthy 
region,  if  possible  not  far  from  home.  I  reluctantlv  agreed 
to  see  the  Presiding  Elder,  told  him  the  wishes  of  my  friends, 
but  said  to  him, '  I  have  no  thought  that  you  will  give  me 
a  station.  I  should  like  to  have  a  place  in  a  healthy  dis- 
trict if  it  can  be  easily  granted,  but  I  have  no  desire  to  be 
near  home ;  I  wish  to  take  my  place  among  my  brethren, 
without  any  conditions  or  limitations.'  The  Elder  assured 
me  that  he  would  arrange  all  satisfactorily,  and  that  he  had 
just  such  a  circuit  as  would  be  best  for  me.  I  returned 
home  without  knowing  my  appointment,  and  waited  pa- 
tiently the  coming  of  the  ministers  from  conference.  At 
that  day  we  had  no  railroads  or  telegraphs,  and  the  secular 
papers  never  troubled  themselves  with  the  doings  of  ecclesi- 
astical bodies.     AVhen  the  ministers  came,  they  brought  me 


STATIONED  IN  PITTSBURGH.*  71 

back  information  of  my  appointment.  I  was  stationed  in 
Pittsburgh,  where  at  that  time  the  cholera  was  prevailing. 
My  lungs  being  weak,  my  health  poor,  the  city  smoky  and 
dusty,  and  an  epidemic  spreading,  my  relatives  were  very 
unwilling  that  I  should  go,  and  thought  it  almost  equiva- 
lent to  death  to  send  me  under  such  circumstances  to  such 
a  place.  But  I  felt  the  Lord  had  directed,  and  as  soon  as 
possible  I  was  on  my  way  to  the  city,  travelling  by  stage, 
having  sold  my  horse  and  laid  aside  my  saddle-bags.  We 
had  the  usual  incidents  of  such  travel  in  those  early  days 
over  the  hills  from  Cadiz  to  Steubenville ;  among;  them  was 
an  upset  on  the  side  of  a  deep  precipice ;  providentially, 
none  ot  us  were  hurt.  A  young  lady  of  my  acquaintance, 
who  was  going  a  part  of  the  way  under  my  care,  illustrated 
the  force  of  habit,  even  in  a  moment  of  danger.  As  the 
stage  had  fallen  on  the  very  edge  of  the  precipice,  I  had 
sprung  out  of  an  open  window  and  assisted  others  in  get- 
ting out.  Among  the  first  to  get  out  was  the  young  lady, 
and,  when  freed  from  the  stage,  her  first  exclamation  was, 
'  Oh,  my  bonnet !'  I  spent  the  night  in  Steubenville,  and  the 
next  day  arrived  at  Pittsburgh,  where,  according  to  direc- 
tions sent  me,  I  was  kindly  received  by  Mr.  James  Yerner, 
who  then  lived  on  Penn  Street. 

"  During  my  first  year  of  preaching,  of  which  I  have  given 
an  account,  few  incidents  occurred  worthy  of  note.  In  my 
personal  experience  I  became  attached  to  the  ministry,  and 
felt  that  my  duty  was  to  continue  in  it.  This,  however,  had 
not  been  without  a  struggle.  Once  during  the  year,  at  a 
dedication  in  St.  Clairsville,  we  had  the  assistance  of  the 
Rev.  John  Waterman,  a  minister  of  unusual  mental  clearness 
and  force.  lie  had  been  in  delicate  health,  and  at  one  time 
had  been  troubled  with  doubts,  but  had  emerged  from  them, 
and  was  a  very  impressive  speaker.  He  preached  at  the 
dedication  five  sermons  of  unusual  intellectual  power  ac- 
companied by  deep  pathos.  The  congregations  were  large 
and  were  greatly  moved.    As  I  listened  to  sermon  after  ser- 


72  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

mon,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  ought  not  to  occupy  a 
pulpit  which  might  be  so  much  more  ably  tilled,  and  I  re- 
solved at  the  end  of  the  year  to  be  discontinued  by  the  con- 
ference, but  to  remain  a  local  preacher.  I  mentioned  the 
matter  to  one  only  of  my  friends,  Mr.  Thoburn,  who  lived 
near  St.  Clairsville  ;  he  seemed  utterly  astonished,  and  urged 
me  by  no  means  to  entertain  the  thought.  I  was  relieved 
from  my  depression  in  a  rather  singular  way.  At  one  of 
my  appointments,  where  I  had  a  very  large  congregation,  I 
was  visited  by  a  brother  minister,  who  was  somewhat  older 
than  myself  in  the  Pittsburgh  Conference.  I  invited  him 
to  preach ;  but  he  was  unfortunate  in  the  service,  was  con- 
fused in  his  statements,  and  incorrect  in  his  language,  and  I 
felt  mortified.  Before  he  had  finished  his  sermon  I  resolved 
to  continue  in  the  pulpit  until  it  should  be  supplied  with 
better  men.  The  Mr.  Thoburn  to  whom  I  have  referred 
was  an  Englishman  who  lived  on  a  farm,  was  one  of  the 
class-leaders  and  stewards  of  the  circuit,  and  was  a  man  of 
deep  piety.  His  son  is  now  in  the  South  India  Conference, 
where  he  has  exercised  a  commanding  influence ;  a  daugh- 
ter is  also  engaged  in  the  same  missionary  work ;  another 
daughter  was  married  to  B.  R.  Cowan,  who  was  at  one  time 
an  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

"  On  arriving  at  Pittsburgh,  I  found  myself  in  advance  of 
my  colleagues.  Rev.  Thomas  Hudson  was  preacher  in  charge, 
and  Rev.  William  Hunter,  since  editor  of  the  Pittsburgh  Ad- 
vocate, and  professor  of  Hebrew  in  Allegheny  College,  was 
associated  with  me.  My  first  evening  was  spent  in  the 
prayer-meeting  at  the  Smithfield  Church,  which  had  then 
but  recently  been  reopened,  having  been  for  a  time  occupied 
by  the  Methodist  Protestants.  I  began  making  inquiries 
about  the  church,  its  condition,  families,  etc.,  of  Dr.  Sellers, 
who  visited  me,  and  whom  I  found  to  be  a  gentleman  of  far 
more  than  ordinary  character  and  intellect,  whose  subse- 
quent counsels  and  advice  were  of  no  little  service  to  me. 
He  had  been  brought  up  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland, 


PASTORAL    VISITING  IN  PITTSBURGH.  73 

and  had  married  a  sister  of  Bishop  Emory.  On  my  first 
Sunday  I  preached  in  Smithfield  Street  Church  in  the  morn- 
ing, from  Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  dry  bones,  and  at  night  in 
Liberty  Street  Church  from, '  I  determined  not  to  know  any- 
thing among  you  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified.'  The 
officiary  of  the  church  arranged  that  Mr.  Hunter  and  my- 
self should  board  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Hudson.  My  home 
associations  were  to  me  very  pleasant  during  the  whole  year. 
"  Mr.  Hudson  was  a  deeply  devoted  minister,  full  of  hope 
and  joyousness,  a  fair  preacher,  and  an  exhorter  of  far  more 
than  usual  power.  I  frequently  thought  him,  in  exhortation, 
equal  to  any  man  I  had  ever  heard.  I  endeavored  to  systema- 
tize my  time,  rising  early  in  the  morning,  usually  from  four 
to  five  o'clock,  and  spending  the  hours  until  ten  o'clock  in 
biblical  or  theological  studies.  At  ten  o'clock  our  practice 
was  to  visit  the  sick,  as  physicians  preferred  that  their  pa- 
tients should  be  seen  in  the  forenoon.  Returning  home  in 
the  forenoon  from  calling  upon  the  sick,  I  dined,  and  con- 
versed or  read  until  two,  when  the  afternoon  was  devoted 
to  pastoral  visitation.  At  my  suggestion  the  city  was  dis- 
tricted, so  that  we  should  each  have  his  field  of  pastoral 
duty :  and  to  me  was  assigned  the  whole  of  the  northern 
part  of  Pittsburgh,  from  Wayne  Street  embracing  Byrds- 
town,  and  also  the  population  on  the  hill.  In  these  visits  I 
found  it  the  most  pleasant  for  me  to  select  some  family  or 
families  the  most  likely  to  invite  me  to  tea  to  call  on  first, 
and  if  I  received  an  invitation,  to  accept  and  promise  to  re- 
turn, excusing  myself  until  through  with  visiting.  This  was 
done  because  I  wished  to  save  time.  Very  frequently  I  in- 
duced one  of  the  class-leaders,  or  some  lady  of  influence  and 
general  knowledge  of  the  district,  to  accompany  me,  and 
many  an  interesting  call  I  had  upon  the  poor  in  cellars  and 
garrets  as  well  as  in  alleys  and  back  streets,  who  complained 
that  they  had  never  been  visited  by  a  minister  before.  I  found 
many  who  had  wandered  away  from  church  service,  but  who, 
under  the  blessing  of  God,  were  subsequently  reclaimed. 


74  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"  Early  in  the  fall  arrangements  were  made  to  hold  a 
camp-meeting  on  the  land  of  Mr.  Swishelm,  near  what  is 
now  known  as  East  Liberty.  Much  opposition  was  ex- 
pressed, because  camp-meetings  had  fallen  into  disuse,  and 
it  was  thought  that  near  the  city  they  could  scarcely  be  held 
profitably ;  but  the  ministers  of  Pittsburgh  were  anxious 
to  try  the  experiment,  and  to  have  the  meeting  closed  on 
Saturday.  The  meeting  was  accordingly  held,  with  a  much 
better  attendance  than  had  been  anticipated.  Rules  were 
drawn  up  for  the  government  of  the  meeting,  prohibiting 
all  conversation  of  a  trifling  character  in  the  preachers'  tent, 
and  the  preachers  bound  themselves  to  devote  their  whole 
time  to  earnest  efforts  for  the  conversion  of  the  people. 
From  the  commencement  a  deep  seriousness  rested  upon 
the  assembly,  and  on  the  third  evening  a  most  remarkable 
scene  occurred.  The  preachers  were  in  the  habit  of  hold- 
ing morning  and  evening  prayer-meetings  ;  that  evening  the 
meeting  began  about  an  hour  before  preaching,  and  such 
was  the  divine  influence  which  came  upon  the  hearts  of  the 
ministers  that  the  people  gathered  around  the  preachers' 
tent,  and  when  the  time  for  preaching  had  arrived  it  was 
found  impossible  to  hold  regular  services.  There  was  ex- 
hortation from  the  desk.  The  preachers  went  out  into  the 
congregation,  and  there  were  vast  crowds  that  filled  the 
altar.  So  solemn  and  so  deeply  affected  an  audience  I  think 
I  had  never  seen,  and  the  number  of  conversions  was  very 
large.  The  meeting  closed  on  Saturday  morning,  and  re- 
vival services  immediately  began  on  Sunday  in  the  churches 
of  the  city,  which  continued  for  about  three  months,  during 
which  time  about  three  hundred  members  were  added  to 
them. 

"  Visiting  the  people  almost  every  day,  I  found  myself  ac- 
quainted with  the  condition  of  nearly  all  who  were  seeking 
Christ,  and  was  able  to  give  them  such  advice  as  I  thought 
their  conditions  required.  During  the  progress  of  the  re- 
vival I  visited  a  lady  who  was  in  feeble  health  and  who 


PERSONAL  INFLUENCE.  75 

had  recently  been  a  subject  of  strong  religious  impressions. 
I  met  in  her  room  one  of  the  leading  ladies  of  the  city  who 
was  an  attendant  of  the  congregation,  but  not  a  decided 
Christian.  The  condition  of  the  church  led  to  conversation 
of  a  deeply  religious  character.  I  found  her  to  be  honest 
and  earnest,  and  yet  she  said  she  could  not  bear  any  excite- 
ment ;  I  gave  her,  however,  such  hints  upon  her  duty  as  I 
could.  The  next  Monday  evening  we  had  a  love-feast.  I 
invited  seekers  of  Christ  to  make  themselves  known,  and 
was  much  surprised  to  notice  that  among  the  first  who 
came  was  this  lady.  She  knelt  at  one  side,  but  the  crowd 
was  great,  the  excitement  deep  and  general,  and  there  were 
a  large  number  of  conversions.  I  feared  lest  she  should  be 
not  only  interrupted,  but  unhappy  in  her  position,  but  was 
agreeably  surprised  to  learn  that,  at  the  close  of  service, 
when  some  one  spoke  to  her  of  the  unusual  noise  in  the 
meeting, '  Why,  I  did  not  hear  any,'  she  replied.  She  be- 
came one  of  the  most  thorough  and  earnest  members  of  the 
church.  Her  husband  was  a  merchant  and  was  not  a  mem- 
ber ;  she  had  also  a  sister,  the  wife  of  B.  A.  Fahnestock,  a 
druggist  of  large  business  and  property.  A  few  days  after 
I  was  sent  for  to  visit  her  husband  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fahnestock.  Mrs.  F.  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  but  found  she  had  not  an  experience  such  as  her 
sister  enjoyed,  and  on  consulting  her  pastor,  he  simply  told 
her, '  she  wTas  nervous.'  Kot  satisfied,  she  desired  religious 
conversation.  Several  interviews  followed,  and  Mr.  Shea, 
the  husband  of  the  lady  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Fahnestock  soon  enjoyed  a  happy  and  satisfactory 
experience.  Mr.  Shea  united  with  the  Methodist  Church, 
but  Mr.  Fahnestock  accompanied  his  wife  to  the  Presbyte- 
rians. 

"  We  had  under  our  joint  care  two  principal  churches  in 
Pittsburgh,  Liberty  Street  and  Smithfield,  where  services 
were  held  three  times  on  Sunday.  We  had  also  Sunday 
afternoon  preaching  in  what  is  now  the  Fifth  Ward,  then 


76  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

called  Bayardstown,  and  preaching  Sunday  morning  and 
evening  at  Birmingham,  in  a  small  church  which  had  recently 
been  built.  To  keep  up  these  services  required  of  us,  gen- 
erally, three  sermons  on  Sunday ;  and  as  it  was  ray  second 
year  in  the  ministry,  between  ministerial  work  and  my 
studies  preparatory  to  examination  I  was  closely  occupied, 
but  yet  found  time  for  some  general  reading.  Conference 
was  held  that  year  in  the  Liberty  Street  Church,  Pittsburgh. 
I  had  expected  to  leave  the  city,  as  it  was  very  unusual  for 
young  men,  at  that  time,  to  remain  in  a  charge  a  second 
year ;  and  I  had  counted  the  Sundays  carefully,  fearing  lest 
I  should  exhaust  my  whole  power  of  edifying  the  congre- 
gations. I  had.  however,  selected  and  kept  a  record  of  texts 
which  I  thought  suitable  for  sermons,  and  of  such  topics  as 
pressed  upon  my  mind,  and  found  that  the  list  had  rather 
increased  than  diminished  as  the  weeks  rolled  on. 

"  After  my  Conference  examinations  were  over,  I  was  or- 
dained by  Bishop  Andrew,  who  presided  at  the  Conference,  and 
who  preached  with  great  zeal  and  energy.  The  morning  before 
Conference  closed,  I  learned  from  my  Presiding  Elder  that  I 
was  appointed  to  Hudson,  not  far  from  Cleveland.  I  called 
upon  the  minister  who  had  filled  the  appointment  to  learn 
something  of  the  character  of  the  work  to  be  done,  and  was 
planning  how  I  should  reach  the  place,  when  the  bishop  said 
he  desired  to  see  the  Presiding  Elders  a  few  moments,  and 
they  retired.  When  they  returned,  I  saw  that  my  Presid- 
ing Elder  looked  confused ;  when  the  appointments  were  an- 
nounced, my  name  was  read  out  for  the  city  of  Pittsburgh 
in  connection  with  the  name  of  Dr.  Charles  Cooke.  The 
bishop  stated  that  if  the  churches  remained  together,  Dr. 
Cooke  was  to  have  charge,  and  I  was  to  be  the  assistant,  but 
that  if  they  divided,  I  was  to  be  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Liberty  Street  Church.  He  left  the  matter  to  the  decision 
of  the  official  board  and  the  Presiding  Elder ;  these  met  and 
by  them  the  division  was  perfected.  The  station,  to  me, 
was  one  of  considerable  perplexity.     The  Liberty  Street 


REAPPOINTED   TO  PITTSBURGH.  77 

Church  had  the  largest  congregation  in  the  city.  I  had 
preached,  as  I  thought,  nearly  all  I  knew,  and  had  been 
hailing  with  delight  the  thought  of  being  changed  to  a  new 
place,  but  found  myself  so  circumstanced  that  I  must  preach 
three  times  on  Sabbath,  and  once  during  the  week,  to  the 
same  congregation.  The  charges  being  divided  under  a 
spirit  of  rivalry,  it  seemed  to  me  almost  impossible  to  main- 
tain the  pulpit  of  the  church  over  which  I  was  placed. 

"  In  the  separation  of  the  churches,  between  three  and  four 
hundred  members  chose  to  belong  to  the  Liberty  Street  or- 
ganization. Unfortunately  the  congregation  at  Smithfield 
Street  Church  declined  to  permit  exchanges  between  Dr. 
Cooke  and  myself,  supposing  that  as  a  young  man  I  would 
be  unable  to  maintain  the  organization  effectually  if  left  to 
myself.  The  official  brethren,  however,  rallied  to  my  help. 
The  church  was  thoroughly  organized.  I  endeavored  to 
visit  from  house  to  house ;  and  often  found  myself  on  Sat- 
urday evening  without  sermons  for  the  Sabbath,  but  by 
some  means  I  had  something  for  each  occasion.  The  con- 
gregations grew  larger ;  the  house  was  crowded  and  a  pre- 
cious revival  commenced.  During  the  revival  I  procured 
the  assistance  of  the  Eev.  F.  A.  Dighton,  one  of  my  Confer- 
ence classmates,  and  also  once  a  college  classmate  in  the 
study  of  Hebrew.  He  was  I  think,  without  exception,  the 
best  specimen  of  a  natural  orator  I  ever  saw.  Without 
creating  overwhelming  excitement,  he  had  the  power  of 
holding  most  closely  the  attention  of  his  hearers ;  was  clear 
in  his  statements,  exceedingly  fluent  in  speech,  and  succeeded 
in  deeply  impressing  his  congregations.  Quite  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  young  people  were  brought  into  the  church.  A 
large  missionary  society  of  the  ladies  of  the  church  was  or- 
ganized, and  the  general  influences  were  of  the  happiest 
kind.  During  the  earlier  part  of  our  revival,  there  were 
some  interruptions  from  disorderly  persons  who  had  been 
in  the  habit,  at  such  times,  of  disturbing  the  congregation 
by  getting  upon  the  seats,  conversation,  etc.     I  felt  that  no 


78  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

church  should  suffer  itself  to  be  imposed  upon,  and  succeeded, 
after  much  entreaty,  in  inducing  the  officiary  of  the  church 
to  stand  by  me  in  an  appeal,  if  necessary,  to  the  civil  au- 
thority. The  rules  adopted  by  them  with  regard  to  order 
were  strictly  announced  in  the  morning,  with  the  statement 
that  any  violation  would  be  reported  to  the  magistrates, 
and  the  statement  was  again  made  at  night.  The  chief  of 
police  of  the  city  was  requested  to  be  present  in  the  even- 
ing ;  some  young  people,  not  supposing  that  we  would  carry 
out  our  purpose,  began  to  be  disorderly,  and  their  names  were 
immediately  taken  and  handed  to  the  police.  Finding  we 
were  in  earnest,  we  had  no  more  trouble. 

"On  November  3,  1835,  I  was  married,  by  the  Kev.  Z. 
H.  Costen,  to  Miss  Ellen  Holmes,  daughter  of  Mr.  James 
Verner,  of  Pittsburgh,  whose  acquaintance  I  had  formed 
immediately  on  arriving  in  Pittsburgh.  After  a  visit  of  a 
few  days  to  my  friends  in  Ohio,  I  returned  and  prosecuted 
the  regular  work  of  the  ministry  without  losing  a  Sabbath. 
The  rivalry  which  had  been  excited  between  the  Smithfield 
and  Liberty  Street  churches  gradually  died  away,  and  before 
the  year  was  out  Dr.  Cooke  and  myself  exchanged  pulpits. 
After  my  marriage  I  lived  in  the  family  of  my  father-in- 
law,  as  they  were  unwilling  to  have  the  daughter  leave  dur- 
ing the  year.  Besides  pursuing  my  studies,  I  read,  quite  ex- 
tensively, theological  works  bearing  on  the  subject  of  the  min- 
istry, occasionally  making  notes,  and  wrote  also  a  few  articles 
for  the  press.  One  of  these  was  a  defence  of  the  course  of 
study  against  an  attack  upon  it  on  account  of  its  extent  and 
thoroughness;  another  suggested  a  series  of  questions  and 
items  of  business  which  the  presiding  elder  could  properly 
use  in  Quarterly  Conferences,  so  as  to  make  himself  more 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  condition  of  the  churches, 
somewhat  similar  to  those  which  have  since  been  intro- 
duced into  the  Discipline.  I  had  felt  at  the  close  of  my  first 
year  that  the  city  was  not  properly  supplied  with  the  pub- 
lications of  the  Church,  and  that  there  ought  to  be  a  place 


ASKS  FOE  A    COLLEGE  DEGREE.  79 

where  new  books  could  be  obtained  by  our  members.  On 
my  return,  I  labored  to  do  what  I  could  in  this  direction, 
and  having  had  an  interview  at  the  Conference  with  the 
New  York  book  agent,  Mr.  Mason,  and  having  been  en- 
couraged by  him,  I  immediately  ordered  a  few  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  books,  resolving,  in  some  way,  to  secure 
their  circulation.  On  mentioning  the  matter  to  Dr.  Elliott, 
who  was  then  editor  of  the  Pittsburgh  Advocate,  he  pro- 
posed to  me  that  the  order  should  be  enlarged,  and  that  his 
office  should  be  used  as  a  depository.  Accordingly  a  large 
list  was  made  out  and  books  were  ordered  and  notice  given 
in  the  paper.  This  was  the  commencement  of  the  book 
depository  at  Pittsburgh,  which  has  since  that  time  built 
up  a  large  business.  I  had  also  felt  a  deep  .interest  in  the 
young  men,  some  of  whom,  I  thought,  would  probably 
prepare  for  the  ministry.  I  had  organized  an  association 
among  them ;  a  few  met  once  a  week,  and  I  endeavored  to 
direct  them  in  their  course  of  reading  and  to  inspire  them 
with  a  thirst  for  knowledge.  Of  that  little  company  several 
subsequently  became  ministers. 

"  During  my  first  year  in  Pittsburgh  I  resolved  to  avail 
myself  of  the  literary  opportunities  offered  at  Allegheny 
College,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  college 
course,  but  also  of  receiving  the  regular  degree,  of  which 
I  had  been  deprived  by  being  compelled  to  leave  Madison 
College.  Dr.  Ruter,  then  President  of  Allegheny  College, 
requested  me  to  attend  for  a  week  or  two,  matriculating  as 
a  regular  student,  and  passing  an  examination  on  the  studies 
of  the  senior  year.  lie  offered  to  give  me  the  degree  of 
A.M.  without  this,  but  I  declined,  preferring  to  enter  reg- 
ularly for  the  degree,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  me 
to  deliver  one  of  the  graduating  addresses.  As  the  time 
drew  near  I  advised  with  Dr.  Sellers,  who  was  one  of  the 
stewards  of  the  church,  about  a  leave  of  absence.  He 
urged  that  I  should  not  go  to  Allegheny  College,  but  take 
my  degree  at  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at 


80  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Pittsburgh,  at  the  head  of  which  at  that  time  was  Rev. 
Dr.  Bruce.  He  saw  President  Bruce,  and  arranged  that  I 
should  see  him.  I  had  a  very  pleasant  interview;  talked 
over  the  course  of  study ;  he  inquired  what  branches  I  had 
pursued,  and,  after  a  very  full  conversation,  said  to  me 
that  I  had  learned  much  more  than  their  college  required ; 
that  if  I  would  attend  twice  a  week  for  a  few  weeks  his 
lectures  on  moral  science,  so  that  I  might  be  enrolled  as  a 
student,  I  should  receive  the  degree  at  the  approaching  com- 
mencement. I  immediately  wrote  to  Dr.  Ruter  that,  with 
the  advice  of  my  friends  of  Pittsburgh,  I  would  embrace 
the  opportunity  at  the  Western  University,  and  arranged 
to  enter  the  following  week.  On  my  way  home  one  morn- 
ing from  the  university,  which  I  was  about  to  enter,  I  called 
at  the  post-office,  and  was  surprised  to  receive  from  Dr. 
Ruter  a  letter  saying  that  their  board  of  trustees  had  met 
and  had  conferred  upon  me  the  degree  of  A.M. 

"  I  was  very  sorry,  because  it  interfered  with  the  plans 
which  I  had  formed  and  designed  to  carry  out,  and  because 
it  had  the  appearance  rather  of  an  honorary  than  a  real 
college  degree,  to  which  I  felt  myself  entitled ;  but  I  was 
unwilling  to  seem  to  undervalue  the  honor  conferred  upon 
me  by  Allegheny  College,  and  hence  felt  obliged  to  decline 
entering  the  university.  It  was  intended  for  kindness  on 
the  part  of  Dr.  Ruter,  but  was  to  me  a  very  unpleasant 
occurrence.  I  availed  myself,  however,  in  the  city,  of  oppor- 
tunities which  I  found  of  improving  myself  in  French  and 
German  by  the  help  of  native  teachers.  I  also  felt  a  very 
deep  interest  in  the  establishment  of  German  services,  and 
gathered  together  a  few  Germans,  one  of  whom  was  a  class- 
leader;  German  preaching  was  begun  in  a  private  house, 
which  I  had  the  pleasure  of  attending.  This  was  in  ad- 
vance of  the  opening  of  missions  among  the  Germans  under 
Dr.  Nast.  Hearing  of  his  conversion,  I  rejoiced  exceeding- 
ly, and  when,  some  two  years  after,  a  proposition  was  made 
to  start  the  German  paper,  I  was  one  among  the  earliest 


HIS  FIBST  HOUSEKEEPING.  81 

subscribers  of  ten  dollars  each  to  its  funds,  and  was  for 
man}?"  years  a  regular  reader  of  it. 

"  The  Annual  Conference  of  1836  was  held  in  "Wheeling. 
The  question  of  the  continuance  of  the  Pittsburgh  Christian 
Advocate  came  before  it.  As  Dr.  Elliott  had  been  elected 
editor  at  Cincinnati,  the  Conference  was  strongly  advised 
to  discontinue  the  paper.  Some  of  the  older  members  of 
the  Conference  agreed  to  this  proposal ;  the  younger  mem- 
bers were  opposed.  "We  selected  Dr.  Hunter  as  our  pros- 
pective editor,  and  when  the  question  came  before  the  Con- 
ference, I  made  my  first  speech.  It  was  short,  but  I  found 
I  had  the  majority  strongly  with  me,  and  when  the  vote 
was  taken,  the  Conference  resolved,  by  more  than  two  to  one, 
to  continue  the  Advocate,  and  Dr.  Hunter  was  elected  editor. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  session  I  was  appointed  to  Mononga- 
hela  City,  then  called  Williamsport,  twenty  miles  south  of 
Pittsburgh.  Immediately  I  made  arrangements  for  removal 
and  housekeeping.  It  was  difficult  to  obtain  a  suitable 
house.  A  one-story  building  with  a  sitting-room,  off  the 
side  of  which  were  two  very  small  bedrooms,  and  near 
which  was  a  kitchen,  was  procured  at  a  rent  of  fifty  dol- 
lars a  year.  It  was  very  much  out  of  repair,  but  myself 
and  wife  fitted  it  up  with  our  own  hands  as  carefully  as 
we  could,  painting  and  improving  it  within  and  trying  to 
make  it  look  as  neat  as  possible.  The  church  was  a  sub- 
stantial brick  edifice  without  much  beauty,  but  with  an 
embarrassing  debt.  The  leading  member  and  the  only 
gentleman  of  wealth  in  the  society  had  just  died,  and  in 
his  will  had  left  directions  to  his  executors  to  cancel  a 
claim  of  about  five  hundred  dollars  which  he  held  against 
the  property,  provided  his  estate  was  freed  from  all  liabil- 
ity for  the  debts  of  the  church,  which  had  been  contracted 
principally  in  his  name.  A  feeling  of  discouragement  rested 
upon  the  people,  as  he  had  been  their  chief  financial  stay ; 
but  having  first  drawn  up  a  plan  which  I  believed  would  be 
successful,  I  obtained,  by  personal  solicitations,  enough  sub- 
6 


82  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

scriptions  to  cancel  the  debt.  The  Sunday-school  was  re- 
vived by  establishing  morning  as  well  as  afternoon  sessions. 
I  obtained  the  names  of  the  children  of  the  church,  formed 
them  into  classes,  appointed  leaders  who  met  them  every 
Saturday  afternoon,  and  I  personally  met  with  them  as 
frequently  as  possible.  I  also  established  prayer-meetings 
in  different  parts  of  the  town,  appointing  leaders  to  con- 
duct them  each  night  in  the  week,  excepting  the  night  of 
the  general  prayer-meeting  in  the  church.  In  this  way  a 
large  portion  of  the  members  were  called  into  active  ser- 
vice, and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  largely  increased 
congregation  and  the  addition  of  a  number  of  persons  to 
the  church.  I  preached  morning  and  evening  in  the  church, 
had  two  appointments  for  Sabbath  afternoon  about  five  or 
six  miles  each  from  the  village,  and  filled  them  on  alternate 
Sabbaths.  I  found  a  kind  people,  plain  and  earnest,  and  my 
association  with  them  was  in  every  way  agreeable. 

"  One  or  two  incidents  were  especially  interesting  to  me. 
Daring  my  earlier  religious  experience  I  was  the  frequent  sub- 
ject of  sceptical  doubts,  which  were  never  fully  removed  until 
I  had  read  carefully  the  evidences  of  Christianitv,when  I  felt 
that,  having  met  all  the  objections,  the  position  of  Christian- 
ity was  for  me  wholly  impregnable.  To  my  mind  the  evi- 
dences of  Christianity  were  a  most  interesting  study,  and 
I  resolved  to  deliver  a  series  of  sermons  setting  forth  the 
salient  points.  Three  of  these  sermons  had  been  preached 
on  successive  Sundays,  and  my  congregation  seemed  to  me 
to  be  deeply  interested  and,  I  hoped,  somewhat  impressed. 
But  I  had  among  my  hearers  a  Lutheran,  Mr.  Bollman,  a 
brother  of  the  Bollman  who  assisted  in  liberating  Lafayette 
from  the  Olmiitz  prison.  He  had  been  finely  educated  in 
Paris,  and  was  at  this  time  engaged  in  mercantile  business. 
In  the  lack  of  a  Lutheran  church  he  attended  mine,  and 
was  one  of  its  regular  supporters.  As  I  passed  his  store 
one  Monday  morning  he  called  me  in,  saying,  'Father 
Simpson,  I  want   to   talk   with   you.1     As  I  was   a  very 


MR.  BOLLMAN  ON  THE  CHRISTIAN  EVIDENCES.      83 

young  man,  and  he  was  quite  advanced  in  years,  this  title 
seemed  singular ;  but  it  was  his  European  habit  of  address- 
ing the  clergyman  as  '  father.'  He  said  to  me,  k  I  keep 
books  of  account ;  they  are  necessary  for  my  business,  and 
I  profess  to  keep  them  correctly  and  honorably.  Now,' 
said  he, '  if  you  were  passing  along  the  street,  and  I  were 
to  say  to  you,  "  Father  Simpson,  come  in  and  examine  my 
books  and  see  how  I  keep  them ;  I  want  your  judgment 
whether  they  are  or  are  not  accurately  kept,  and  whether 
there  is  any  evidence  of  dishonesty,"  you  might  think  it 
strange  that  I  asked  you  such  a  question,  but  you  would 
consider  it  a  slight  peculiarity  of  mine,  and  that  I  had  some 
reason  for  it,  and  it  would  pass  from  your  mind.  But,  sup- 
pose,' said  he,  '  that  I  should  meet  you  again  and  ask  you 
a  second  time  to  come  in  and  examine  my  books,  and  should 
say,  "  I  would  like  you  to  look  over  my  books  and  see  if 
they  are  not  accurately  and  perfectly  kept,  and  every  de- 
tail correctly  carried  out,"  your  surprise  would  be  in- 
creased, and  you  would  ask  yourself,  Can  there  be  anything 
wrong  ?  And,'  said  he, '  if  a  third  time  I  would  invite  you 
in  and  insist  on  your  examining  my  books,  you  would  be 
sure  to  go  away  thinking  that  there  was  something  wrong 
in  my  mode  of  doing  business.  Now,'  said  he,  '  I  have  no 
doubt  that  your  books  are  all  right,  and  why  is  it  necessary 
to  preach  three  sermons  to  prove  what  we  already  believe  V 
I  did  not  fully  acknowledge  the  force  of  his  criticism,  but 
I  confess  it  had  the  effect  to  spoil  my  series  of  sermons,  and 
I  dropped  them,  afterwards  referring  only  to  such  evidences 
as  came  in  my  way  in  the  discussion  of  other  subjects." 

I  find  among  the  papers  of  the  Williamsport  period — 
183G — the  following  scheme  of  self-discipline.  It  cannot  be 
told  from  aught  that  appears  whether  it  is  original  or  cop- 
ied from  some  worthy  of  the  Church ;  most  probably  it  is 
his  own.  Like  many  other  plans  of  moral  regimen,  it  aims 
at  the  unattainable ;  but  of  its  wiiolesome,  especially  its  re- 
straining, effect  upon  his  speech  there  can  be  no  possible 


S4  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

doubt.  For  if  ever  a  man  guarded  his  lips  it  was  Bishop 
Simpson.  Genial,  ready  to  converse  with  every  one,  as  he 
always  was,  he  seemed  to  know  by  intuition  what  ought 
to  be  spoken  and  what  not.  "When  character  was  under 
discussion  he  said  very  little,  and  that  little  well  within  the 
bounds  of  Christian  charity.  His  anger  did  not  readily  find 
vent  in  words ;  this  was.  the  more  remarkable,  for  his  sensi- 
bilities were  acute. 

He  was  capable,  however,  of  putting  his  anger  into  sar- 
casm, and  yet  I  never  heard  sarcasm  from  him  but  once. 
It  was  during  the  struggle  for  lay  delegation.  One  promi- 
nent clerical  opponent,  who  held  an  important  financial  posi- 
tion, had  declared  that  the  purpose  was,  by  means  of  it,  to 
give  a  monopoly  of  power  in  the  Church  to  the  rich.  He, 
therefore,  made  a  stand  for  the  poor,  who,  he  reasoned, 
could  not  afford  to  go  as  delegates  to  the  general  confer- 
ence. The  bishop,  in  a  public  address,  cited  the  objec- 
tion, and  then,  quoting  from  the  New  Testament  example 
of  the  same  objection,  added,  "  This  he  said,  not  that  he 
cared  for  the  poor,''  and  went  right  on.  The  effect  was  in- 
describable. 

But  to  the  scheme  of  moral  discipline,  those  who  knew 
him  in  after-life  will  readily  perceive  how  closely  he  had 
conformed  his  conduct  to  it : 

"  What  I  should  refrain  from  : 

"  1.  Never  injure  the  feelings  of  any  person  with  whom  I  converse  or 
am  associated,  unless  that  injury  be  the  result  of  the  declaration  of  a 
truth  which  it  becomes  my  duty  to  utter. 

"2.  Speak  evil  of  no  one;  never  utter  disrespectful  words,  or  indulge 
in  a  conversation  wherein  any  one  is  unnecessarily  spoken  against. 

"  3.  Suffer  myself  not  to  give  way  to  a  jesting  or  jocose  spirit,  or  to 
talk  upon  unimportant  subjects. 

"4.   Spend  no  more  time  at  any  place  than  may  appear  indispensable. 

•• .").  Endeavor  to  refrain  from  lengthy  conversations  with  my  family 
and  intimates,  ever  remembering  '  bum  loquor,  tempus  fugit.' 

■•  What  I  should  do  : 

••  1.  Rise  at  four  every  morning,  and  if  I  cannot  retire  at  a  correspond- 


RULES   OF   CONDUCT.  g5 

ing  hour,  sleep  a  sufficient  time  to  make  up  the  deficiency  during  the 
day. 

"  2.  Dress  as  expeditiously  as  possible,  and  then  devote  a  considerable 
time  to  reading  the  English  Scriptures  and  to  private  prayer. 

"3.  If  possible,  devote  some  time  to  studying  the  Scriptures  in  their 
originals. 

"4.  Fill  up  all  my  leisure  hours  with  useful  reading,  always  keeping 
some  book  in  my  hand. 

"5.  Visit  and  pray  from  house  to  house,  and  talk  pointedly  and 
faithfully. 

"  G.  Reprove  sin  whenever  I  may  find  it,  always  in  the  spirit  of  love 
and  meekness. 

"7.  Always  endeavor  to  give  a  religious  direction  to  every  conver- 
sation. 

"8.  Ask  no  questions  concerning  myself,  nor  suffer  the  conversation  to 
turn  upon  me. 

"9.  If  commended,  pray  for  humility  ;  if  insulted,  pray  for  love;  if  ap- 
parently successful,  be  thankful  to  God,  and  pray  to  feel  my  own  un- 
worthiness. 

"  10.  To  preach,  exhort,  and  pray  as  though  in  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  Jehovah  himself. 

"  Lord,  help  me  to  do  all  these  things,  and  thy  name  shall  have  all  the 
glory.     Oh,  keep  me  by  thy  power,  or  I  shall  assuredly  fall. 

"M.  Simpson. 
"  Williamspokt,  Jan.  11,  1830." 


V. 
INCIDENTS   OF   HIS   EARLY  MINISTRY. 


1834-183^ 


Was  Bishop  Simpson's  Pulpit  Power  of  Slow  Growth  ? — Accounts  by 
Relatives  of  his  First  Sermons. — Professor  Hamnett's  Testimony. — His 
Appointment  to  Liberty  Street  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Proof  of  his  Rapid 
Success. — Counsels  of  Dr.  Sellers. — His  Early  Style  Impassioned. — His 
Own  Description  of  his  First  Attempts  to  Make  Sermons. — His  Method 
Purely  Extemporaneous. — Looked  for  Immediate  Results  from  Every 
Sermon. — The  Itinerant  Life  of  that  Period. — The  Simple  Worship  of 
Rustic  Congregations. — His  Own  Account,  from  his  Diary,  of  his  Cir- 
cuit Preaching. — Laborious  Pastorate  in  Pittsburgh. — Studies  in  the 
Hebrew  and  in  the  New  Testament. — Pastoral  Visitation  and  Sunday 
Sermons. — Completes  his  Twenty-fourth  Year.  —  Dissatisfaction  with 
his  Spiritual  State. 


CHARACTER   OF  HIS  EARLY  PREACHING.  89 


V. 

The  questions  of  most  concern  to  us  who  have  been  con- 
temporary with  Bishop  Simpson,  and  who  heard  his  preach- 
ing, are  :  "  Was  his  pulpit  power  of  slow  growth  ?  Or,  did  he 
at  once  apprehend  the  conditions  of  successful  preaching?11 
Most  men  who  have  developed  power  as  speakers  have 
gained  it  at  the  expense  of  long-suffering  audiences.  Time 
and  practice  have  been  required  to  give  them  full  command 
of  their  capabilities.  They  have  had  slowly  to  learn  their 
own  limitations ;  through  mortifying  failures  to  find  out 
what  they  could  and  what  they  could  not  do.  Especially 
is  this  true  of  an  extemporaneous  speaker,  and  young  Simp- 
son would  be  no  other.  That  he  began  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling has  been  made  plain  by  his  diary.  That  it  was  in 
him  to  become  one  of  the  most  eloquent  and  overwhelming 
preachers  of  his  generation  never,  I  apprehend,  entered  his 
thoughts.  I  have  made  careful  inquiries  of  those  who  heard 
his  first  sermons,  and  the  uniform  testimony  is  that  he  showed 
ability  to  command  both  himself  and  his  audience  from 
the  first.  Mrs.  Amanda  Wood,  who  remembers  his  earliest 
sermon  in  Cadiz,  says  of  it :  "I  suppose  that  there  were 
persons  in  that  little,  well-filled  church  who  wondered  at  his 
self-possession  as  he  rose  to  speak  in  the  presence  of  the  vil- 
lage wiseacres.  But  soon  the  power  of  his  magnetism  took 
hold  and  fixed  the  attention  of  his  hearers."  Another  rela- 
tive, Mrs.  McElroy,  now  far  advanced  in  years,  says  of  his 
early  success:  "I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  his  second 
sermon,  which  was  preached  at  a  camp-meeting  in  Harrison 
County,  Ohio,  in  the  fall  of  1833.  On  that  occasion  he  read 
as  a  lesson  the  second  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 


90  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

selecting  from  it  as  his  text  the  five  verses  beginning  with 
the  fourteenth  and  ending  with  the  eighteenth.  And  won- 
derful indeed  were  the  effects  of  his  words,  coming,  as  it 
seemed,  right  from  God  through  his  youthful  servant.  And 
though  more  than  half  a  century  has  passed  since  then,  the 
scene  still  remains  in  my  mind  as  vivid  as  if  it  were  but  yes- 
terday. During  his  preaching,  while  dwelling  on  the  pour- 
ing out  of  the  Spirit,  a  young  lady,  Peggy  Simpson  by 
name,  a  second  cousin  of  the  bishop's,  was  gloriously  con- 
verted, while  on  every  hand  arose  shouts  of  praise  to  Al- 
mighty God." 

But  this  testimony  has  its  abatements  ;  the  plan  which  he 
adopted  precluded  uniform  success.  "  He  was  determined," 
says  Professor  Hamnet,  one  of  Simpson's  young  friends 
during  the  Pittsburgh  pastorate,  "  to  be  an  extemporaneous 
speaker  at  all  hazards,  though  he  knew  it  would  cost  him 
many  failures.  He  persisted  in  the  effort,  and  some  of  his 
early  sermons  were  very  moderate.  It  was  his  practice  to 
collect  texts  in  a  notebook  and  meditate  upon  them,  and 
then  use  one  of  them  quite  suddenly  for  a  sermon.  He 
wrote  but  one  discourse  during  all  this  period,  and  after  de- 
livering it  he  asked  me  if  I  noticed  anything  peculiar  in  the 
delivery.  I  said  no ;  he  replied  it  was  written  and  mem- 
orized. The  experiment  satisfied  him,  for,  as  far  as  ap- 
pears, it  was  never  repeated." 

His  appointment  to  the  Liberty  Street  Church  in  Pitts- 
burgh, under  circumstances  which  made  him,  unwillingly, 
the  rival  of  an  experienced  and  highly  esteemed  minister,  is 
proof  of  his  immediate  success  as  a  public  speaker.  In  this 
position  he  had  the  advantage  of  association  with  the  fami- 
ly of  Dr.  Henry  D.  Sellers,  the  brother-in-law  of  Bishop 
John  Emory.  Dr.  Sellers  was  a  man  of  strong  character, 
clear,  penetrating  mind,  and  polished  manners.  He  became 
for  Simpson  a  friendly  and  most  useful  critic.  The  young 
preacher,  in  the  impetuous  rush  of  speech,  sometimes  lost 
breath,  and  fell  into  the  habit  of  catching  it  again  in  a  gasp. 


AN  IMPASSIONED   STYLE.  91 

which  came  to  the  ears  of  his  congregation  as  a  very  audi- 
ble "  ah "  at  the  end  of  nearly  every  clause  of  a  sentence. 
Many  will  remember  how  finely  this  was  ridiculed  by  the 
eccentric  Jacob  Gruber  in  a  letter  to  a  young  preacher,  be- 
ginning "  When  -ah,  you -ah,  go -ah,  to -ah,  say -ah,"  etc. 
Dr.  Sellers  characterized  it  by  a  strong  term,  and  told  Mr. 
Simpson  that  he  must  quit  it.  The  criticism  was  received 
in  the  very  best  spirit ;  other  criticisms  followed,  and  final- 
ly it  was  agreed  that  the  young  preacher  should  call  on  Dr. 
Sellers  every  Monday  morning  and  discuss  with  him  the 
delivery  of  the  sermons  of  the  preceding  day.  In  the  first 
year  of  the  Pittsburgh  life,  when  the  churches  of  the  city 
were  still  organized  as  a  circuit,  the  two  junior  preachers — 
Simpson  and  Hunter — were  constant  visitors  at  Dr.  Sellers' s 
house,  and  must  have  profited  by  his  conversation,  which 
was  of  the  very  highest  order. 

I  take  it  that  his  style  was  then,  as  in  the  time  of  his 
maturity,  strongly  impassioned.  Mrs.  Simpson  says  that 
often  the  foam  flew  out  of  his  mouth  when  he  was  in  a  high 
state  of  excitement.  As  to  structure,  his  sermons  were 
wholly  unartilicial ;  he  had  never  been  drilled  in  homiletics, 
and  had  to  trust  to  the  instincts  of  nature  to  show  him  the 
right  way.  This  is  his  own  account  of  it,  given  when  he 
had  reached  the  fulness  of  his  fame:  "I  had  listened,  to 
good  preachers,  but  the  only  sermons  I  had  ever  read  were 
those  of  Mr.  Wesley.  I  did  not  know  there  was  such  a 
thine  as  a  skeleton  or  a  book  of  skeletons  of  sermons ;  and 
in  my  youthful  innocence  I  would  as  soon  have  stolen 
money  from  a  bank  as  appropriate  a  sermon  I  had  either 
heard  or  read.  I  remember  well  how,  about  the  close  of 
my  first  year,  an  older  minister  put  into  my  hand  and  of- 
fered to  lend  me  a  book  of  sketches.  I  happened  to  have 
common-sense  enough  to  decline  the  offer ;  so,  without  knoAv- 
ing  how  a  sermon  was  made,  save  as  mentioned,  I  began  to 
preach.  I  did  not  try  to  make  sermons.  I  felt  I  must,  at 
the  peril  of  my  soul,  persuade  men  to  come  to  Christ.     I 


92  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

must  labor  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability  to  get  sinners  con- 
verted and  believers  advanced  in  holiness.  For  this  I  thought 
and  studied,  and  wept  and  fasted  and  prayed.  My  selec- 
tion of  words,  my  plan  of  discourse,  was  only  and  always  to 
persuade  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  I  never  spoke  with- 
out the  deepest  feeling,  and  unless  I  saw  a  strong  influence 
on  the  congregation,  I  felt  sad,  and  sought  retirement,  to 
humble  myself  before  God  in  prayer.  My  sermons  were 
not  well  arranged ;  they  sometimes  had  divisions,  for  I  had 
heard  ministers  say  firstly,  and  secondly,  and  thirdly.  Some- 
times I  had  a  line  written  out  here  and  there,  and  sometimes 
a  few  catchwords  on  a  scrap  of  paper,  but  these  I  seldom 
if  ever  carried  into  the  pulpit,  and  very  few  of  these  I  have 
preserved.  My  ministry  was  one  of  exhortation  rather  than 
of  sermonizing,  and  I  looked  for  immediate  results  under 
every  effort,  or  to  me  it  was  a  failure.  So  my  early  min- 
istry was  formed.  Whatever  my  method  was,  it  was  pure- 
ly my  own,  and  was  adopted,  as  I  have  said,  not  to  make 
sermons,  but  to  bring  men  to  God.  No  one  could  have 
been  more  surprised  than  myself  when  I  began  to  find 
not  only  that  souls  were  awakened  and  converted,  but 
that  friends  began  to  speak  kindly  of  my  simple  talks  as 
sermons."  * 

Here,  then,  we  have  evidence  that  young  Simpson,  warm 
with  deep  religious  feeling,  and  prompted  by  the  intuitions 
of  an  oratorical  temperament,  had  struck  upon  a  great  truth, 
namely,  that  the  sermon  is  not  an  end  in  itself,  but  a  means 
to  a  higher  end.  Or,  as  Mr.  Beecher  has  phrased  it,  a 
preacher,  in  making  a  sermon,  should  first  ask  himself  what 
he  intends  to  do  with  his  congregation.  Mr.  Simpson 
would  have  answered  this  question  very  simply,  by  saying 
that  what  he  wished  to  do  with  his  congregation  was  to 
persuade  those  therein  who  did  not  know  God  to  come  to 
him,  and  those  therein  who  did  know  God  to  cleave  to  him. 

*  "  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching,"  pp.  162,  1G3. 


THE   OLD  ITINERANT  LIFE.  93 

Every  one  who  has  read  his  published  discourses  is  struck 
with  their  urgency,  and  the  pressure  which  he  puts  upon 
his  hearers  to  do  instantly  the  thing  which  just  then  he 
wishes  them  to  do. 

It  was  an  itinerant  life  of  the  old  style  upon  which  the 
future  bishop  entered,  a  life  which  has  passed  away,  but 
has  left  delightful  memories  for  all  who  shared  it.     He  had 
thirty-three  appointments  to  fill  in  every  term  of  six  weeks. 
The  travel  was  on  horseback;  the  preaching-places  were 
often  private  houses— as  a  rule,  the  houses  of  zealous  mem- 
bers, who  offered  their  homes  for  this  use.     Chairs  or  rough 
benches  served  for  seating  the  congregation ;  a  table,  cov- 
ered with  a  neat  white  cloth,  made  a  pulpit.    The  neighbors 
gathered  in  from  ten  in  number  to  forty  or  fifty,  and,  if  the 
season  was  summer,  the  men  here  and  there  in  their  shirt 
sleeves.     The  tethered  horses,  the  waving  grain  without, 
the  deep  silence  of  nature,  undisturbed  save  by  the  song  of 
the  rustic  worshippers  or  the  voice  of  the  preacher,  blended 
into  a  scene  which  no  one  who  has  been  a  participant  in 
such  a  service  can  ever  forget.     The  preaching  over,  the 
few  remain  to  speak  to  one  another  of  that  hidden,  inner 
life  which  they  prize  as  the  precious  jewel  of  their  exist- 
ence.    Here  eyes  are  often  suffused  with  tears,  and  visages 
hardened  with  exposure  and  toil  put  on  a  tenderness  of 
which  they  would  hardly  be  thought,  by  the  careless  ob- 
server, to  be  capable.     It  is  the  preacher's  golden  opportu- 
nity to  counsel,  to  reprove,  to  cheer.     The  company  break- 
ing up,  and  a  simple  meal  despatched,  the  itinerant  is  off 
to  another  appointment,  to  meet  another  and  like  company, 
taking  on  his  way  the  homes  of  those  who  need  his  pres- 
ence and  his  prayers. 

There  is  in  this  life  every  feature  likely  to  discourage  an 
ambitious  man  of  worldly  temper,  especially  if  he  be  much 
superior  in  culture  to  the  people  whom  he  serves.  To  the 
student  eager  for  knowledge  it  is  the  breaking  up  of  all  op- 
portunities for  its  acquisition.     But  to  one  who  has  what 


94  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Guizot  has  called  "  the  divine  passion  for  souls  "  every  step 
in  it  is  taken  with  joy,  moderated  only  by  the  ever-present 
sense  of  personal  unfitness.  Simpson,  who  had  put  aside  for 
it  what  were  for  the  times  very  lucrative  offers,  threw  him- 
self into  its  labors  and  privations  with  unbounded  energy. 
Some  brief  jottings  from  his  diary  will  show  the  feeling 
with  which  he  regarded  his  work  : 

"  April  5, 1834. — Left  home  at  half-past  twelve  to  start  upon  St.  Clairs- 
ville  Circuit,  now  altered  to  a  six  weeks'  circuit,  and  containing  thirty- 
three  appointments.  I  passed  through  Harrisville,  thence  the  creek 
road  to  Perrine's,  my  first  appointment,  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles.  This 
is  about  half  a  mile  below  the  road  leading  from  Harrisville  to  St.  Clairs- 
ville,  and  is  pleasantly  situated  on  Wheeling  Creek,  two  and  a  halt 
miles  from  St.  Clairsville.  To  stand  at  Perriue's  and  look  around,  their 
farm  appears  to  be  surrounded  upon  three  sides  with  majestic  hills, 
whose  sides  are  skirted  with  woods,  and  upon  whose  summits  improve- 
ments can  be  distinctly  seen ;  upon  the  fourth  side  you  trace  the  creek 
wandering  down  midst  smiling  meadows.  A  handsome  mill  is  on  the 
place,  running  three  pairs  of  stones,  also  a  small  stone  house  in  which 
preaching  is  held.  I  was  shown  in  and  waited  upon  by  Miss  A.  A.  T. 
P ,  a  sprightly  young  damsel,  who,  her  mother  tells  me,  is  just  seven- 
teen, neat  in  her  person,  liandsome-faced,  and  amiable  in  her  manners. 
I  was  very  agreeably  disaj^pointed  in  finding  some  evidences  of  literary 
taste — upon  her  writing-desk,  which  was  very  neatly  furnished,  lay  some 
poetry  in  her  handwriting,  while  upon  her  table  were  the  files  of  the 
Western  Gem.  After  meeting  I  heard  her  in  another  room  teaching  an 
orphan  girl  who  lives  with  them  how  to  spell.  The  night  being  dark 
and  the  creek  high,  there  were  but  four  men  and  eleven  women  gath- 
ered, to  whom  I  endeavored  to  expound  Job  xv.  11  :  'Are  the  conso- 
lations of  God  small  with  thee ;  is  there  any  secret  thing  with  thee  ?' 
After  preaching  met  class,  and  retired  about  ten  o'clock. 

Sunday,  April  6. — Breakfasted  with  Perrines — two  children  and  mother 
members,  old  man  not.  In  conversation  the  old  man  expressed  his  de- 
sire to  be  religious  ;  I  pressed  the  subject  close;  he  objected  that  his 
business  of  tending  mill,  etc.,  was  so  unfavorable  that  he  could  not  be 
religious;  I  insisted  that  as  his  day  was  so  should  his  strength  be,  and 
that  every  lawful  business  would  leave  freedom  in  religious  matters. 
'Ah!'  said  the  old  man,  'you  don't  know  much  about  mill-property  or 
you  wouldn't  think  so.'  Rode  to  St.  Clairsville  with  the  family,  and  put 
up  with  B.  Wilkins.     Preached  at  eleven  to  a  large  congregation,  from 


PREACHING  IN  PRIVATE  HOUSES.  95 

Hebrews  v.  8,  9 :  '  Though  he  were  a  son,  yet  learned  he  obedience  by  the 
tilings  which  he  suffered;  and  being  made  perfect  he  became  the  author 
of  eternal  salvation  unto  all  them  that  obey  him.'  Before  the  exercises 
began,  I  felt  entirely  exhausted  in  spirit,  but  while  giving  out,  in  my 
first  hymn,  these  words,  '  Power  unto  the  strengthless  souls  he  speaks, 
and  life  unto  the  dead,'  my  soul  took  courage,  and  I  had  considerable 
liberty.  After  class  I  gave  an  invitation,  and  two  young  women  who 
had  once  been  Reformers  [i.e.,  Methodist]  offered  themselves  as  proba- 
tioners. At  night  I  tried  to  preach  from  Luke  xi.  23,  'He  that  is  not 
with  me  is  against  me,  and  he  that  gathereth  not  with  me  scattereth,' 
but  I  almost  entirely  failed.  The  night  was  rainy  and  I  had  few  hearers. 
After  meeting  went  home  with  Brother  Carothers,  talked  about  organ- 
izing Sabbath-school,  and  supped  and  retired.  Oh,  how  little  good  am  I 
doing!  to  how  little  purpose  am  I  living!  my  feelings  seemed  to  urge 
me  not  to  try  to  speak,  because  I  could  do  no  good. 

Monday,  April  7.— Breakfasted  at  Carothers'.  Inquired  for  the  sick, 
and  was  told  that  a  colored  woman  called  Maria  Butler,  who  enjoyed  the 
confidence  of  the  society,  was  not  expected  to  live.  In  going  to  see  her 
I  called  at  Brother  Kent's,  and  Mrs.  Kent  was  pleased  to  accompany  me. 
We  found  the  sick  woman  low  in  body  but  of  joyful  mind  ;  her  hopes  of 
salvation  through  Christ  were  strong  and  unwavering.  After  endeavor- 
ing to  console  her  and  establish  her  if  possible  more  strongly  in  the  faith, 
I  prayed  with  her  and  retired.  Called  to  see  Mrs.  Cowen.  Left  cards 
of  probationship,  general  rules,  and  the  character  of  a  Methodist,  for  each 
of  the  young  women  who  had  joined  on  Sunday  ;  prayed,  and  took  leave. 
Rode  to  Eaton's.  Meeting  is  here  held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  James  Eaton. 
It  is  five  miles  from  St.  Clairsville  ;  three  miles  west  of  town  the  road  to 
Eaton's  leaves  the  turnpike.  I  endeavored  to  preach  from  Galatians 
iii.  22:  'But  the  Scripture  hath  concluded  all  under  sin,  that  the  prom- 
ise by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ  might  be  given  to  them  that  believe.'  After 
preaching,  met  class.  Society  small.  Mrs.  James  Moore  invited  me  to 
call  in  the  evening  and  I  promised  to  do  so.  After  dinner  I  felt  so  ex- 
hausted I  fain  would  have  lain  down,  but  I  tried  to  deny  myself,  and 
spent  a  short  time  in  reading  and  writing. 

Tuesday,  April  8.— Breakfasted  at  Moore's  and  then  started  for  Neff's, 
where  I  was  to  preach  at  night;  but  owing  to  improper  directions  I 
travelled  thirteen  miles  instead  of  seven,  and  over  a  very  bad  road; 
however,  I  amused  myself  in  examining  the  strata  of  limestone,  coal, 
etc.,  on  McMahon's  creek  so  far  as  I  rode  down  it.  At  last  I  arrived 
at  Mr.  Neff's,  and  preached  at  night  to  a  small  assembly  from  John  iii. 
17,  18:  'For  God  sent,' etc.  The  family  very  kind,  but  only  two  sons 
are  religious.      The  people    in    this  neighborhood    are    generally    op- 


96  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

posed  to  temperance  societies  on  account  of  the  influence  of  a  few  rich 
distillers. 

Wednesday,  April  9. — Rode  to  Widow  Smith's,  over  the  worst  piece  of 
road  I  have  yet  travelled,  and  preached  at  two  from  Colossians  i.  14  -. 
•  In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of 
sins.'  Met  class  and  spent  evening  in  reading  and  writing.  The  family 
are  very  agreeable,  and  have  a  large  stock  of  sheep.  The  boy  tells  me 
that  a  hilly  farm  is  most  suitable  for  sheep,  and  that  in  the  coldest  night 
in  winter  they  prefer  lying  on  the  highest  knobs. 

Thursday,  10. — Called  at  Mr.  Thoburn's  on  my  way  to  Farmington 
where  I  spent  a  few  moments  with  this  loving  family,  and  prayed  and 
left  them.  Preached  at  Farmington  from  Romans  v.  9 :  '  Being  now 
justified  by  his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  from  wrath  through  him.' 

Sunday,  April  13. — Rode  to  Bayles's  meeting-house  near  Warren,  and 
preached  to  a  serious  congregation  from  Romans  x.  9:  'That  if  thou 
shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth,'  etc.  Met  class  and  had  a  very  pleasant 
meeting.  Here  I  was  detained  too  long  to  have  time  to  dine.  I  there- 
fore rode  to  Mt.  Pleasant,  but  when  I  arrived  I  found  there  was  time  for 
dinner,  the  meeting  being  an  hour  later  than  I  supposed.  I  preached  at 
four  from  John  iii.  17. 

Monday,  April  14. — After  breakfast  I  rode  home  to  Cadiz,  where  I  re- 
mained till  Thursday,  when  I  preached  at  Stier's  at  eleven  o'clock.  Re- 
turned home  at  night. 

Friday,  18. — Rode  to  Georgetown  to  preach  at  two;  but  no  congrega- 
tion gathered,  but  four  or  five,  to  whom  I  gave  a  word  of  exhortation 
and  prayed  and  took  leave. 

Sunday,  April  20. — Had  a  very  good  love-feast ;  the  congregation  being 
very  large,  I  preached  to  them  out  of  doors  from  Galatians  iii.  13 :  '  Christ 
hath  redeemed  us,'  etc.,  and  had  considerable  liberty.  When  I  com- 
menced the  sun  shone  full  upon  me,  but  after  I  had  begun  speaking  I 
felt  no  further  inconvenience  from  it,  nor  from  a  stitch  in  the  side  with 
which  I  had  been  afflicted  since  morning.  Oh,  the  goodness  of  God! 
After  dinner  I  rode  to  St.  Clairsville,  stopped  at  Mr.  Hubbard's,  and 
preached  from  Genesis  xxii.  7  :  '  Behold  the  fire  and  the  wood,  but  where 
is  the  lamb  for  the  burnt  offering  V  I  know  not  whether  ever  my  spirits 
so  completely  sank  within  me  while  attempting  to  preach.  '  Lord,  sup- 
port me  or  I  fall.' 

Monday,  April  21. — This  morning  my  horse  had  broken  out  of  the 
stable,  and  I  did  not  get  him  till  nearly  eleven  o'clock,  consequent- 
ly could  not  reach  an  appointment  five  miles  from  town  at  that 
hour. 

This  week  being  mv  rest  week,  I  remained  at  home  engaged  in  read- 


PLANS  OF   WORK  IN  PITTSBURGH.  97 

ing  and  writing,  unci  I  also  tended  clerk's  office  three  days  during  the 
absence  of  Uncle  Tingley. 

Sunday,  April  27. — I  preached  twice  in  Cadiz;  daytime  I  felt  badly, 
at  night  I  felt  tolerably  well. 

Monday,  April  28. — Met  two  classes,  and  visited  and  prayed  with  a 
sick  girl  who  is  about  leaving  the  world  ;  she  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Seceder  Church,  has  been  upright  in  her  deportment,  and  now  seems  to 
have  a  pleasing  hope  of  immortality. 

Tuesday,  April  29. — Wrote  in  clerk's  office,  and  prepared  for  starting 
from  home. 

Wednesday,  April  30. — Rode  to  Uniontown  and  preached. 

Monday,  May  6. — After  preaching  in  the  morning,  walked  from  Day's 
a  mile  into  the  bottom,  and  preached  from  Hebrews  v.  8,  0  :  '  Though  he 
were  a  sou,'  etc.  There  was  but  one  candle,  and  in  moving  it  I  unfortu- 
nately knocked  it  down,  as  it  was  only  set  on  the  top  of  an  inkstand, 
there  being  no  candlestick  there.  It  was  while  I  was  giving  out  my 
first  hymn,  but  fortunately  I  knew  the  words,  and  there  was  fire  at  which 
the  candle  was  lighted,  so  that  Ave  proceeded  without  inconvenience. 
After  preaching  walked  back  to  Day's,  and  as  it  had  rained  and  the  hill 
was  steep  I  was  much  exhausted,  but  I  slept  very  sweetly;  it  reminded 
me  of  the  way  of  duty,  steep  and  arduous,  but  the  effect  delightful. 

,  July  26. — At  the  conference  held  at  Washington,  Pennsylvania, 

I  received  an  appointment  to  the  city  of  Pittsburgh.  To  this  I  had  sev- 
eral objectious;  1st.  My  little  experience  in  the  ministry;  2d.  My  health 
might  not  suit  confinement ;  3d.  I  feared  that  I  could  not  please  the  peo- 
ple. But  as  my  brethren  willed  it,  I  cheerfully  acquiesced.  Returned  to 
Cadiz  from  the  conference  and  arranged  my  business  for  leaving  home. 
Preached  by  request  of  one  of  the  elders  in  the  Presbyterian  Church ; 
my  text  was,  '  Besides  this,  giving  all  diligence,'  etc.  On  Thursday 
morning,  July  31,  left  Cadiz  in  the  stage  for  Steubenville. 

Tuesday,  Aug.  12. — This  morning  again  commenced  my  diary,  which 
I  purpose,  through  the  help  of  Providence,  faithfully  to  continue.  I  have 
now  got  regularly  settled.  I  have  commenced  reading  my  Hebrew  Bible 
and  Greek  Testament  in  regular  order,  and  noting  down  such  texts  as  I 
think  I  may  hereafter  discuss.  I  purpose  following  the  plan  in  the  Dis- 
cipline, and  studying  every  forenoon  and  employing  the  afternoon  in 
pastoral  duties.  I  take  down  skeletons  of  all  the  sermons  which  I  preach. 
When  I  view  myself  and  the  work  in  which  I  am  engaged,  I  almost 
shudder  at  my  insensibility :  I  am  not  alive  in  grace  as  I  ought  to  be, 
not  dead  to  the  world  as  I  should  be,  do  not  feel  such  continual  fervency 
of  spirit  as  I  once  felt;  yet  I  try  to  pray:  'Lord  revive  me  and  revive 
thy  work  in  a  glorious  manner.' 


98  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Friday,  Aug.  15. — Visited  Father  Elliott  and  procured  from  him  an 
Italian  Bible  and  Lexicon,  which  I  purpose  studying. 

Friday,  Aug.  22. — This  day  a  strange  feeling  came  over  me  in  the 
midst  of  danger;  the  thought  passed  through  my  mind  that  my  mother 
prayed  for  me,  and  I  felt  a  confidence  that  she  would  be  heard.  My 
mind  immediately  recurred  to  Jesus  as  loving  more  tenderly  than  a 
mother,  and  I  believed  in  a  faint  manner  that  he  would  protect  and  be 
with  me. 

Saturday,  Aug.  16. — Visited  a  sick  woman,  and  prepared  for  the  pulpit 
on  the  morrow.  This  day  endeavored  to  live  a  more  holy  life,  and  I 
think  I  feel  more  in  the  spirit  of  my  work  than  at  any  time  since  I  have 
been  in  the  city. 

Sunday,  Aug.  26. — This  was  a  Sabbath  day  to  my  soul.  I  walked  to 
Birmingham  and  preached  at  eleven ;  took  dinner  at  Brother  McRee's, 
and  read  fifty  or  sixty  pages  in  the  life  of  Mrs.  Judson,  the  first  female 
missionary  from  America  to  Burmah,  a  woman  strong  in  faith  and  in 
love.  Addressed  the  Sabbath  scholars  at  two,  and  met  class  at  three. 
Supped  with  Brother  Kramer,  and  preached  in  Liberty  Street  at  night. 
Blessed  be  the  Lord  for  supporting  and  consoling  grace. 

Saturday,  Aug.  30. — Read,  wrote,  and  prepared  for  the  pulpit.  To 
facilitate  our  visiting  from  house  to  house  we  divided  our  charge  into 
three  parts,  and  agreed  to  commence  next  week  in  order.  I  had  con- 
templated going  to  Meadville  to  graduate  the  ensuing  month,  and  was 
preparing  the  outline  of  a  Hebrew  oration,  but,  on  further  consideration 
and  the  advice  of  Mr.  Elliott,  I  suspended  this  uutil  I  made  inquiry  with 
regard  to  the  university  situated  in  this  place. 

Monday,  Sept.  1. — Bead  as  usual  in  Hebrew  and  Greek,  Locke's  Essay, 
and  Imperial  Magazine. 

Saturday,  Sept.  6. — Prepared  for  the  pulpit,  read,  and  wrote.  Received 
a  letter  from  uncle. 

Sunday,  Sept.  7.— At  half-past  eight  met  class;  half-past  ten  preached  ; 
after  that  met  class;  had  unusual  liberty  in  preaching;  dined  at  Brother 
Stewart's.  He  gave  me  a  French  edition  of  an  English  grammar.  Took 
sacrament  at  three ;  very  solemn  time.  I  tried  to  covenant  afresh  with 
God.  Oh,  that  I  might  be  entirely  given  up  to  him  who  hath  done  so 
much  for  me.     Night  preached  at  Liberty  Street,  and  returned  home. 

Thursday,  Nov.  13. — Spent  the  forenoon  in  reading  and  writing.  A 
plan  we  have  pursued  some  time  is  to  select  a  text  each  day,  write  skel- 
etons, and  compare  them.  Afternoon  spent  in  visiting  families ;  at  eight, 
preached  in  Alleghany  town,  and  returned. 

Sunday,  Nov.  16. — This  day  was  a  laborious  one.  I  preached  twice, 
exhorted  once,  met  two  classes,  addressed  a  Sabbath  school,  and  visited 


CORRESPONDENCE   WITH  UNCLE  MATTHEW.  99 

a  sick  man.  It  was  a  cold  wintry  day,  and  the  ground  was  covered  with 
snow  for  the  first  time  this  season.  I  did  not  enjoy  myself  so  well  as 
sometimes  I  do.  I  fear  I  have  too  little  personal  religion  to  be  useful. 
I  think  I  will  try  to  live  more  in  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  self-examina- 
tion. One  fault  I  notice  in  my  conversation,  I  converse  too  freely  re- 
specting the  imperfections  of  absent  persons. 

Jan.  1,  1835. — Last  evening  we  held  a  watch-meeting  in  L'iberty  Street ; 
closed  the  year  with  prayer,  and  commenced  the  new  one  on  our  knees 
in  solemn,  silent  prayer,  and  then  sang  the  covenant  hymn. 

Sabbath,  June  21, 1835. — This  day  I  am  twenty-four  years  old.  Oh, 
how  rapidly  does  time  pass  away  !  Plow  little  have  I  improved  during 
the  past  year !  God  has  been  very  good  to  me  in  lengthening  my  life,  in 
giving  me  health  beyond  my  hopes ;  but  I  have  been  ungrateful.  Oh, 
help  me  from  this  day  to  dedicate  myself  anew  to  thee,  to  serve  thee  in 
newness  of  life,  with  all  my  ransomed  powers.  Of  late  I  have  not  visited 
enough  from  house  to  house,  nor  talked  enough  upon  religious  subjects. 
I  would  commence  anew ;  I  would  employ  my  time  better ;  I  would  be 
more  serious,  more  earnest,  more  persevering.  But,  of  myself,  the  good 
that  I  would  do,  that  do  I  not.  Lord,  give  me  perfect  victory  the  ensu- 
ing year,  that  with  all  my  heart  I  may  glorify  thee,  and  that  my  life  may 
be  spotless.  This  clay  I  preached  twice,  and  had  some  degree  of  liberty. 
But,  oh,  how  little  impression  do  my  words  seem  to  produce! 

Friday,  26. — This  day  spent  in  visiting  the  sick  and  from  house  to 
house,  and,  in  the  morning,  as  usual,  studied  some  in  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment and  Watson's  '  Institutes.' 

Sunday,  June  28. — This  morning  I  was  so  situated  that  I  preached  be- 
fore Bishop  Roberts.  I  made  no  apology,  felt  but  little  embarrassment, 
and  enjoyed  my  subject  very  well.  At  three  o'clock  I  heard  him  preach 
from  Heb.  xii.  1 :  '  Let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,1  etc.  His  sermon  was  a 
plain,  good,  practical  discourse,  which  was  well  suited  to  produce  effect. 
If,  however,  it  had  not  been  preached  by  a  bishop  it  would  not  have 
been  extraordinary.  His  language  is  generally  chaste  and  sometimes  el- 
egant, but  sometimes  he  errs.     Perhaps  these  are  mere  tongue-slips." 

He  was  now,  for  the  most  part,  away  from  his  trusted 
counsellor,  his  uncle  Matthew,  but  not  so  far  as  to  be  out  of 
the  reach  of  his  uncle's  watchful  love.  The  correspondence 
between  them  during  the  first  four  years  of  his  ministry  is 
very  beautiful,  but  only  snatches  of  it  can  be  given  here. 
They  discuss  together  the  exegesis  of  difficult  passages  of 
Scripture,  the  best  treatment  of  other  passages  for  sermon- 


100  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

making,  and  the  uncle  now  and  then  sends  his  nephew  expo- 
sitions of  entire  psalms  or  parables,  which  he  modestly  sug- 
gests may  be  useful  as  material.  A  close  student  of  the 
Bible,  and  a  close  observer  of  human  nature,  the  elder  Simp- 
son had  in  him  rich  veins  of  thought,  which  he  now  dis- 
closed to  his  foster-child.  I  think  I  can  see  the  influence  of 
the  uncle's  mind  upon  the  bishop's  preaching,  especially  in 
its  intensely  Scriptural  character,  and  its  habit  of  tracing  the 
connection  between  prophecies  and  their  fulfilment.  Some 
one — perhaps  President  Garfield — is  reported  to  have  said 
that  with  a  student  sitting  on  one  end  of  a  pine  log  and  Presi- 
dent Mark  Hopkins  on  the  other  there  would  be  a  college.  In 
the  same  sense  it  may  be  said  that,  given  this  watchful  uncle 
on  the  one  hand  and  a  docile  nephew  upon  the  other,  there 
are  brought  together  the  rudiments  of  an  effective  theologi- 
cal discipline.  The  pupil  soon  rises  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
homely-wise  instructions  of  his  preceptor,  but  during  the 
years  of  his  inexperience  one  cannot  see  how  he  could  have 
been  better  guided.  The  cautions  as  to  personal  conduct 
are  most  admirable ;  and  the  firm  trust  in  God's  providen- 
tial care,  which  the  uncle  continually  expresses,  seems  to 
have  been  wrought  into  the  nephew's  habits  of  thought,  for 
it  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  his  entire  life.  "  All  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,"  is  the  re- 
peated lesson  given  to  him  by  the  teacher  of  his  early  years, 
and  by  this  tie  the  bishop  held  always  to  the  unseen,  but 
all-seeing  One.  The  correspondence  was  long  and  various. 
A  letter  was  a  letter  in  those  days  of  dear  postage ;  no  little 
snip  of  a  note  sufficed  for  the  purpose.  "We  can  only  cull 
here  and  there  a  few  passages  to  show  the  deep  affection  on 
both  sides. 

The  first  letter  from  the  uncle  indicates  that  the  talkers 
had  begun  to  talk,  and  that  the  nephew  was  annoyed : 

"Wellsville,  June  14,  1«4. 
"  The  best  way  is,  if  you  should  meet  with  any  difficulties  or  any  find- 
in"-  fault  or  any  whispering  about  you,  as  is  often  the  case  with  preachers 


THE  HEBREW  ORATION.  101 

towards  the  close  of  the  year,  to  remember  that  no  prudence  of  yours 
nor  the  advice  of  your  best  and  wisest  friends  will,  of  themselves,  be  suf- 
ficient. You  must  cast  your  burden  upon  the  Lord  and  he  will  sustain 
you.  See  that  instead  of  housing  yourself  up  in  retirement,  you  stir 
about  as  heretofore  in  the  discharge  of  duty ;  for  if  you  do  not  you  will 
be  liable  to  imagine  that  everybody  is  talking  about  you  and  even  de- 
spising you,  but  if  you  do  as  I  have  advised,  though  some  few  may  talk, 
the  great  majority  will  esteem  you  as  they  ought.  And  remember  Satan 
desires  to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat.  The  best  w7ay  of 
getting  out  of  his  power  is  fearlessly  to  do  your  duty  in  all  things.  Let 
God  and  man  have  it  to  say,  as  you  began  so  you  continued  until  the 
end.  And  while  there  may  be  outward  puzzlements,  see  that  the  peace, 
love,  and  presence  of  God  are  within,  and  all  will  be  well. 

"Remember  you  are  in  the  critical  time  of  life,  and  in  the  critical  time 
of  your  ministry,  and,  of  course,  will  need  all  the  grace,  patience,  and 
humility  you  can  have.  If  your  health  should  fail,  come  home  until  it 
mends,  but  come  aw7ay  in  such  a  manner  as  will  show  that  it  is  only  on 
account  of  your  health  you  leave  for  a  time.  Watch  diligently  and  pray 
much,  and  the  Saviour  will  make  your  way  plain, before  you,  and  he  will 
shine  upon  .your  path.  May  the  God  of  grace  and  wisdom  guide  you  in 
all  things." 

The  second  letter  is  about  the  proposed  Hebrew  oration : 

"  Cadiz,  Aug.  20, 1834. 
"If  you  conclude  to  speak  the  Hebrew  oration,  recollect  the  hearers 
will  generally  judge  of  your  performance  merely  by  their  hearing.  You 
must  therefore  consider  it  a  main  point  to  be  able  to  pronounce  each 
word  according  to  the  best  directions  you  have  on  that  subject,  and  you 
must  string  them  together  in  such  a  manner  as  will  appear  to  be  natural. 
This  will  require  you  to  speak  slowly  and  impressively,  and  not  to  em- 
phasize too  many  wTords,  and  as  w7e  do  not  know  the  manner  of  em- 
phasizing used  by  the  ancients,  wre  should  in  an  oration  in  any  dead 
language  place  the  emphasis  on  the  same  words  and  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  we  would  in  our  own  tongue ;  otherwise  it  will  not  fall  agreeably 
on  the  ear.  So  I  think ;  perhaps  a  scholar  would  think  differently.  The 
subject  selected  for  a  Hebrew  oration  ought  to  be  of  the  most  solemn 
kind ;  such  as  describes  the  attributes  of  God,  his  wonderful  works  of 
nature,  or  Providence,  such  as  marvellous  deliverances,  and  an  exhorta- 
tion to  serve  him,  backed  with  suitable  examples.  And  perhaps  the 
Scriptural  account  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom  ought  to  be  a  part.  It 
should  be  first  composed  in  English  in  the  best  manner  and  then  trans- 
lated into  Hebrew ;  and  if  you  conclude  to  do  it,  you  ought  to  commence 


102  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

immediately;  for  it  will  be  the  hardest  task  you  ever  performed  to  com- 
pose even  the  English,  so  as  to  be  worthy  of  that  language  in  which  won- 
derful things  of  God  are  revealed,  and  in  which  are  found  the  most  sub- 
lime accounts  of  him  and  of  nature,  and  narratives  the  most  simple, 
affecting,  and  interesting  in  the  world.  Let  us,  if  you  do  make  it,  have 
your  English  draught,  for  it  ought  not  to  exceed  what  you  can  put 
in  a  sheet." 

Sending  him  an  exposition  of  the  parable  of  the  house- 
holder who  went  out  to  hire  laborers  for  his  vineyard,  he 
adds  this  caution  upon  the  use  of  proof  texts  : 

"Cadiz,  Aug.  24,  1834. 

"  I  want  you  to  profit  by  this  hint :  never  cpiote  a  text  to  prove  what 
it  does  not  say,  without  showing  by  proper  argument  that  the  text  so 
quoted  must  mean  the  very  thing  you  bring  it  to  prove.  Remember  how 
Euclid  would  argue,  and  try  to  make  an  argument  equally  conclusive  in 
divinity.     You,  by  a  little  attention,  can  easily  do  it. 

"  And  perhaps  there  may  be  an  impropriety  in  my  sending  anything 
explanatory  of  Scripture  to  you,  because  it  may  fall  into  other  hands, 
which  I  think  wTould  not  be  for  your  credit  or  mine.  I  want,  for  some 
time,  to  hear  from  you  at  least  once  a  week,  and  am  willing  to  send  you 
a  sheet  such  as  this  just  as  often,  if  you  would  rather  have  it." 

In  another  letter  he  advises  him  against  attempting  to 
find  in  the  Bible  the  discoveries  of  geology  and  the  kindred 
natural  sciences : 

"  Cadiz,  Sept.  7,  1834. 
"  And,  now  that  I  think  of  it,  let  me  put  in  a  caution,  to  myself  and 
you,  not  to  find  allusions  where  they  are  not  natural,  for  by  overdoing  we 
may  spoil  any  hypothesis;  as  the  proving  too  much  proves  nothing. 
And  another  caution  is  needed:  to  guard  against  the  opposite  extreme, 
which  the  philosophical  theologians  of  the  present  day  are  running  into  ; 
that  is,  they  find  the  sacred  writings  to  establish  every  principle  of  geol- 
ogy and  natural  philosophy.  The  sacred  writings  were  intended  princi- 
pally to  inculcate  every  moral  and  religious  principle  connected  with  the 
love  of  God  and  man  ;  and  that  this  may  be  the  more  effectually  done, 
there  are  interspersed  among  the  instructions  given  two  chains  or  sys- 
tems intimately  connected.  One  of  history,  showing  what  man  has  done 
through  a  succession  of  ages,  and  how  God  has  dealt  with  him,  granting 
him  prosperity  and  success  when  faithful,  and  punishing  or  chastising 
him  when  unfaithful,  to  bring  him  to  repentance.  The  other  of  prophe- 
cy, which  shows  what  God  will  bring  about  in  the  history  of  redemption 


THE   UNCLE'S  LESSONS  IN  THEOLOGY.  103 

and  of  providence  until  the  end  of  the  world.  But  though  the  Script- 
ures were  intended  principally  to  teach  morality  and  religion,  as  above 
stated,  yet  the  study  of  them  greatly  improves  the  natural  powers  of  the 
mind  by  continually  bringing  into  requisition  all  the  knowledge  the 
mind  possesses,  whether  of  language,  history,  or  nature,  so  that,  even  in 
a  natural  sense,  it  may  be  said  of  them  'they  make  wise  the  simple.' 
But  be  you  content  with  doing  good,  that  will  shine  in  eternity,  when 
they  will  be  dim  who  study  to  gain  the  adulation  of  their  hearers  more 
than  their  profit." 

As  his  pupil  has  asked  for  an  exposition  of  the  phrase 
"idle  word"  in  Matt.  xii.  36,  an  elaborate  essay  is  sent. 
He  had  probably  heard  that  his  nephew  was  becoming  pop- 
ular, and  admonishes  him  that  it  is  far  better  to  be  useful 
than  to  be  eloquent.    This  to  the  growing  orator  was  timely : 

"  Cadiz,  Oct.  30,  1834. 

'•I  rejoice  much  that  God  is  carrying  on  Ills  work  in  your  station,  and 
to  hear  of  your  being  useful;  that  you  are  instrumental  in  doing  good  is 
much  more  pleasing  to  me  than  to  hear  of  your  being  called  a  popular 
orator.  I  somehow  suspect  that  very  few  of  those  popular  pulpit  ora- 
tors will  rate  high  in  God's  account  when  the  day  of  reckoning  comes; 
for  the  question  will  not  then  be  how  many  they  pleased,  but  how  many 
they  saved.  At  that  day,  when  all  things  will  be  seen  as  they  are,  many 
a  doctor  of  divinity  will  rate  lower  than  some  reputed  to  be  ignorant  and 
unlearned,  but  whose  hearts  have  burned  with  love  to  God  and  man,  and 
whose  zeal  carried  them  successfully  over  almost  every  obstacle. 

"  You  know  I  do  not  like  to  write  much,  but  now  that  I  cannot  talk 
to  you  face  to  face,  I  so  love  to  talk  to  you  by  paper  and  ink  that,  would' 
my  eyes  stand  it,  and  were  it  not  for  making  you  pay  too  much  postage,, 
you  should  have  one  epistle  every  mail.  And,  now  that  I  have  used  the 
word.  I  will  just  add  I  hope  you  do  not  say,  '  Paul's  letter,'  instead  of 
'  Paul's  epistle.'  It  is  a  very  poor  way  of  showing  one's  learning.  I 
wonder  if  any  learned  man  does  so.  As  I  missed  the  right  word,  idle,  in. 
a  former  communication,  I  have  written  my  thoughts  on  the  '  idle  words ' 
in  Matt.  xii.  36,  but  I  shall  not  probably  send  them  to  you,  but  keep, 
them  until  you  come." 

Another  letter  outlines  a  Christmas  sermon  for  "  his  boy :" 

"Cadiz,  Dec.  19,  1S34. 
"  Thus  I  have  given  an  imperfect  outline,  which  you  may  transpose, 
enlarge,  and  back  with  references  and  quotations  and  instances.     If  vou> 


104  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

do  this  correctly  you  will  make  the  most  interesting  Christmas  sermon  I 
have  ever  heard.  It  ought  to  be  made  out  in  some  degree  that  Jesus 
was  the  person  prophesied  of,  that  his  lineage,  the  time  and  place  of  his 
birth,  his  works,  his  death  and  the  circumstances  attending  it,  showed 
him  to  be  the  very  person ;  but  this  supposes  a  good  deal  of  time  for 
preparation.*' 

In  the  next  letter  he  grapples  with  a  most  abstruse  sub- 
ject— the  difficulty  of  making  exact  definitions  in  theology : 

"  Cadiz,  Dec.  21,  1834. 
"On  the  subject  of  Adam  being  our  representative,  I  admitted  in  a 
former  communication  that  there  might  be  some  senses  in  which  he 
could  be  so  called ;  but  on  the  principles  of  representation,  as  under- 
stood and  practised  in  the  affairs  of  this  world,  Adam's  children  could 
not  justly  be  answerable  for  their  father's  sin.  And  here  let  me  observe, 
that  in  some  subjects  it  is  very  hard  to  find  a  term  which  will  fairly  ex- 
press the  meaning  wanted;  and  perhaps  there  is  no  science  in  which  it 
is  more  difficult  to  find  suitable  terms  than  in  that  of  theology.  This,  I 
suppose,  has  been  a  fruitful  source  of  vexation  to  the  Church  in  all  ages. 
And  this  was  almost  an  unavoidable  evil ;  for  we  cannot  well  discuss 
any  subject  without  the  use  of  technical  terms,  even  when  we  know  that 
they  do  not  fully  and  fairly  express  the  things  for  which  they  are  used, 
and  no  more.  The  nearest  we  could  come  to  avoiding  this  difficulty 
would  be,  on  using  a  term,  to  show  at  the  beginning  that  in  no  other 
sense  is  it  to  be  understood  by  the  hearers  or  readers  on  that  occasion, 
or  in  that  treatise." 

His  transfer  to  Pittsburgh,  and  the  probability  that  he 
would  never  more  live  in  Cadiz,  led  to  the  breaking  up  of 
the  old  home.  His  sister  Hetty  had  married  Mr.  George 
McCullough,  and  Mr.  McCullough  had  purchased  a  farm 
at  Wellsville,  on  the  Ohio  River,  whither  he  purposed  mov- 
ing ;  uncle  and  mother  decided  to  accompany  him.  It  was 
while  the  family  were  in  Wellsville  that  the  son  married 
Miss  Ellen  II.  Verner,  of  Pittsburgh.  The  uncle  tells  of 
this  in  the  letter  following : 

"Cadiz,  Jan.  19,  1S35. 
"  George  McCullough  has  articled  for  a  farm  on  the  Ohio,  seven  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek,  and  between  the  towns  of  Wellsville 
and  Fawcetstown,  three  miles  from  the  former  and  one  from  the  latter. 


lllllll 


■UMHMHU||!  J1 


UNCLE   MATTHEW    SIMPSON. 


THE  NEW  HOME  ON  THE  OHIO.  105 

The  hill,  viewed  from  the  river,  is  a  perpendicular  precipice  of  rocks,  or 
nearly  so,  but  on  the  hill  it  is  a  level  and  beautiful  farm.  George  expects 
to  be  on  it  about  the  first  of  April,  and  he  wants  us  to  go  along,  and  it 
is  likely  we  shall  go  then  or  not  very  long  after.  If  we  do,  the  steamboat 
would  conduct  one  from  Pittsburgh  to  the  place  in  a  few  hours  almost 
any  day." 

There  follows  a  description  of  the  way  to  the  new  home, 
and  then  a  reminder  to  the  growing  orator  that  if  he  does 
well,  and  because  he  does  well,  he  will  meet  with  detraction, 
even  from  Christians. 

"Liverpool,  April  13,  1835. 

"  At  about  a  mile  below  the  little  town  of  Liverpool,  in  Columbiana 
County,  a  little  run,  on  which  is  a  saw-mill,  empties  into  the  river ;  below 
the  mouth  of  the  run  there  is  a  small  field,  said  to  contain  five  acres  of 
bottom ;  you  would  guess  two  acres  instead  of  five.  Below  the  field  is  a 
little  cabin,  where  there  is  always  wood  piled  up  for  the  steamboats.  If 
you  put  out  at  the  cabin  and  turn  up  towards  the  run,  taking  the  left- 
hand  road,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  cabin  it  will  wind  you  up  the 
steep  hill  and  bring  you  to  a  log  house,  where  you  will  see  us  if  we  live 
so  long." 

"Liverpool,  April  28,  1835. 

"  We  are  all  in  our  usual  health,  and  I  spend  my  time  in  weaving  foun- 
dations for  stocks  and  in  setting  and  keeping  things  to  rights.  The  sol- 
itude is  not  disagreeable.  I  know  nobody  and  nobody,  or  but  few,  seem 
to  know  me.  If  it  goes  on  so  it  will  not  be  hard  to  cover  the  defects  of 
age.  God  is  good  to  me  in  giving  me  almost  uninterrupted  tranquillity, 
and  as  much  indifference  to  earthly  things  as  perhaps  comports  with  the 
condition  of  one  dwelling  in  a  mortal  body.  Your  own  health  and  welfare 
are  the  greatest  drawback  to  this  indifference.  When  you  were  youn«- 1 
taught  you  some  things  which  you  would  do  well  to  remember.  One 
was  that  whosoever  will  excel  others  in  anything,  even  in  learning  or 
piety,  and,  what  is  still  more  strange,  if  you  exceed  others  in  the  diligent 
discharge  of  ministerial  duties,  you  will  become  an  object  of  envy.  Oth- 
ers will  industriously  find  and  impute  to  you  sinister  motives  for  all  you 
do  more  than  the  common  drones,  and  even  some,  who  may  be  above 
detracting  anything  from  your  character  themselves,  will  have  no  great 
objection  to  others  doing  it,  for  the  young  man  will  need  'a  takino- 
down.'  You  are  to  expect  all  this  from  preachers  of  the  gospel  of  your 
own  order,  and  that,  too,  from  men  who  really  do  love  you.  Every  man 
pays  for  his  wealth  in  land,  cattle,  or  money ;  and  this  detraction  is  the 


10G  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

tax  -which  men  of  superior  attainments  or  qualifications  have  to  pay.     I 
mention  these  things  to  stir  up  your  mind  by  way  of  remembrance." 

Already  the  young  preacher  was  named  for  a  college  pro- 
fessorship ;  the  call  was  sufficiently  strong  to  warrant  ask- 
ing the  uncle's  advice.  The  wise  answer  comes :  "  Do  not 
reach  forward  for  preferment ;  let  God  choose.  Think  only 
of  your  work.  Remember  that  you  are  the  child  of  Prov- 
idence." 

"Liverpool,  May  11,  1S35. 

"The  promise  is,  'If  thine  eye  be  single  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full 
of  light;'  so,  if  you  lay  down  your  own  will  and  study  only  the  will  of 
your  Lord,  as  he  has  heretofore  directed  you,  opened  your  way,  and  pros- 
pered you,  so  he  will  now.  Your  mother's  prayers  and  mine  will,  as 
heretofore,  be  joined  to  yours  that  God  may  direct  you  in  all  things. 

"With  regard  to  the  French  and  German  languages,  you  ought  not  to 
hesitate  about  the  expense,  as  I  hope  your  design  would  be  to  use  such 
knowledge  to  the  glory  of  God;  the  gold  and  silver  are  his,  and  he  can 
supply  you.  He  has  heretofore  supplied  you  with  tuition-fees  and  books 
in  such  sort  as  few  would  have  expected  at  the  time  you  were  left  an 
orphan.  Remember,  therefore,  you  are  the  child  of  Providence,  and, 
whether  you  are  to  preach  or  teach  in  a  seminary,  you  could  make  these 
languages  worth  more  than  all  the  trouble  and  expense.  But  if  you  will 
think  the  expense  too  much,  then  take  the  French  by  all  means,  for  you 
may  never  again  have  so  good  an  opportunity ;  the  German  you  could 
acquire  from  the  Germans  themselves,  and  it  is  not  so  much  sought  after 
as  an  accomplishment.  I  would  not,  for  fear  of  your  health,  insist  on 
this  were  it  not  that  I  suppose  the  pronunciation  is  nearly  all  you  have 
to  learn." 

"  Remember  you  are  the  child  of  Providence.''  I  doubt 
if  any  one  of  the  old  uncle's  lessons  took  a  deeper  root  in 
the  heart  of  his  foster-child  than  this.  His  faith  in  the  di- 
vine watch-care  over  him  never  wavered  for  an  instant,  and 
with  this  there  was  growing  in  his  mind  the  conviction  that 
he  was  preparing  for  a  large  and  important  life  in  the  world. 
He  writes  at  this  period  to.  his  uncle :  "  When  I  reflect  upon 
the  course  which  has  been  marked  out  for  me  by  Provi- 
dence these  few  years,  I  think  that  he  either  designs  me  for 
a  very  short  life,  or  else  one  marked  with  peculiar  incidents 


"THE  CHILD   OF  PROVIDENCE."  107 

of  an  arduous  and  responsible  character.  In  the  meantime 
write  often,  write  long,  and  pray  a  great  deal  that  the  God 
of  all  consolation  may  be  my  support  and  sure  defence." 

Here  is  a  picture  of  the  simple  yet  thrifty  way  of  life  at 
the  old  home  in  its  new  place : 

"  Wellsville,  July  3, 1835. 

"  Your  mother  and  Hetty,  on  yesterday  evening,  went  half  a  mile  to 
visit  our  very  kind  neighbors,  the  Blackburns;  on  returning  and  cross- 
ing a  fence  she  twisted  a  leg  and  caused  a  sprain,  which  was  very  pain- 
ful all  night;  so  she  slept  none,  and  this  day  she  cannot  walk  about;  but 
she  sews  at  stocks,  for  she  helps  a  good  deal  at  that  business,  and  since 
coining  here  they  have  made  above  one  hundred  of  them;  the  greater 
part  were  disposed  of  at  Cadiz. 

"  Recollect,  a  young  man  just  entering  the  ministry,  by  undertaking 
too  much  may  render  himself  incapable  of  doing  anything  at  all. 

"  Write  to  me  every  week  until  Conference,  and  I  expect  to  do  the 
same  to  you ;  I  will  suffer  considerable  anxiety  about  you  till  after  Con- 
ference, but  I  would  much  more  did  I  not  know  that  God,  your  Father, 
possesses  all  you  need ;  you  are  his  and  he  cares  for  you.  My  daily 
prayer  is,  that  he  would  give  you  health,  grace,  wisdom,  and  fortitude  to 
do  his  will  in  all  things.  Your  mother's  anxiety  is  no  doubt  more,  and 
her  prayers  more  frequent  and  fervent  for  you  than  mine ;  we  often  talk 
together  about  you.     Oh,  remember  what  I  wrote  you  on  meekness." 

I  fancy  that  the  young  preacher  was  sensitive  to  unjust 
criticism ;  and  in  this  fashion  the  old  uncle  braces  him  up : 

"Wellsville,  July  11,1835. 
"Was  ever  a  brave  soldier  the  least  downcast  by  any  opinion  which 
subalterns  or  others  might  form  of  him ;  when  he  knew  that  all  his 
actions,  sufferings,  sacrifices,  and  the  motives  which  governed  him,  were 
perfectly  known  to  his  commander-in-chief,  because  done  under  his  eye, 
and  that  he  would  most  certainly  see  to  the  bestowment  of  the  proper 
honors  and  rewards?  Would  not  a  soldier  in  such  circumstances,  con- 
scious that  all  was  safe,  laugh  at  the  unworthy  opinions  formed  of  him, 
or  at  the  mean  attempts  of  any  to  lessen  his  reputation  ?  Jesus  is  your 
commander-in-chief;  he  knows  what  you  have  left,  so  follow  him.  He 
knows  all  that  you  are,  and  all  you  have  ;  for  he  made  you  what  you  are, 
and  gave  you  what  you  have.  And  oh,  my  son,  let  this  consideration 
keep  your  heart  at  ease;    nay,  let  it  make  you  joyful,  independent  of 


108  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

other  men's  opinions.  Be  meek  and  patient  under  opposition,  avoid 
throwing  out  any  hints  "which  could  be  construed  unfavorably  to  your 
present  colleagues.  Take  care  to  leave  every  member,  if  possible,  of  your 
charge  in  jjeace,  and  let  every  one  see  that  you  are  steady  to  your 
purpose." 

When  reappointed  to  Pittsburgh  his  colleague  was  the 
amiable  and  gentle  Doctor  Cooke.  But  the  relations  of  the 
two  churches,  Liberty  Street  and  Smithfield,  were  strained, 
and  the  sagacious  uncle  sees  reason  for  the  utmost  prudence : 

"  Wellsville,  Aug.  8, 1835. 
"  "We  were  a  good  deal  surprised  at  your  being  continued  in  Pitts- 
burgh, but  it  is  no  doubt  for  the  best,  or  may  be  made  so, '  for  all  things 
shall  work  for  good,'  etc.  We  were  not  made  to  do  our  own  will,  but  the 
will  of  our  Heavenly  Father.  To  do  his  will  is  our  greatest  interest  and 
should  be  our  greatest  delight,  or,  at  least,  we  should  try  to  make  it  as 
much  so  as  possible.  Your  continuance  there  is  no  doubt  providential, 
and  will  work  for  your  good,  and  that  of  others ;  if  not  immediately,  it 
will  by  and  by.  So  endeavor  cheerfully  to  set  about  your  work  as  though 
you  were  in  the  very  place  you  wanted  to  be.  Your  colleague  in  charge 
is  a  scholar  and  a  business  man,  and  that  will  make  your  burden  some- 
what lighter  than  that  of  last  year ;  but  then  scholars  and  business  men 
are  apt  to  be  absolute,  and  you  don't  bow  to  great  men ;  so  if  you  do  not 
both  keep  your  hearts  with  diligence  you  may  quarrel." 

Here  is  a  letter  full  of  sweet  counsel.  It  repeats  the  old 
lessons,  old  as  the  ages :  "  Empty  your  heart  of  selfishness  ; 
cast  all  your  care  upon  God :" 

"  Aug.  23, 1835. 
"If  you  will  leave  self  out  of  the  question,  and  make  the  honor  and 
cause  of  God  all  your  concern,  then  he  will  in  his  own  time  and  manner 
vindicate  your  character  and  cause.  And  when  it  shall  be  best  he  will 
raise  you  up  friends,  perils  out  of  enemies,  who  will  not  see  you  suffer 
wrong.  The  elect  person  spoken  of  by  Isaiah  was,  though  perfect,  to  be 
blind  and  deaf.  He  openeth  the  eyes  but  he  seeth  not,  he  openeth  the 
ears  but  he  heareth  not.  O  Jesus,  how  wonderful  thy  conduct  and  char- 
acter, but  how  unlike  to  thee  are  many  of  thy  followers  !  I  rejoice  to  find 
so  much  conformity  to  your  divine  Saviour  in  you;  that  you  may  be  pre- 
served from  evil  and  have  heavenly  wisdom  and  divine  aid  is  my  daily 
prayer.      The  Lord  has  marvellously  preserved  you,  and  directed  your 


PLAIN  LIVING  AND  HIGH  THINKING.  109 

path  from  your  infancy,  and  now  will  you  not  cheerfully  and  in  faith 
commit  yourself  to  his  care  and  protection  ?  In  this  respect  take  no 
thought  for  the  morrow;  be  content  with  what  he  gives  in  every  sense, 
and  do  not  sutler  anxiety  to  prey  upon  your  spirits." 

The  old  folks  at  home  had  been  living,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  a  log  cabin  on  the  Ohio  bluff  near  Wells ville.  They  were 
getting,  however,  a  frame  house  ready,  and  this  is  the  uncle's 
account  of  it  to  his  nephew  in  Pittsburgh : 

"  Wellsville,  Oct.  24, 1S35. 
"The  house  is  shingled,  and  about  a  day's  work  after  this  would  finish 
the  weather-boarding ;  the  chimneys  are  to  be  built,  and  floors  to  be  made, 
together  with  doors,  washboards,  surbase,  and  cupboards.  The  sash  is 
made;  no  lime  can  be  got  near  this,  and  I  think  it  probable  the  plaster- 
ing may  not  be  done  this  winter,  but  it  will  be  barely  filled  in  and 
lathed.  The  carpenter  thinks  he  will  have  it  done  by  the  first  of  De- 
cember; then  there  will  be  nothing  but  the  filling  in  and  lathing  to  finish 
the  lower  story,  for  that  is  all  we  aim  at  now.  And  as  the  weather-board- 
ing is  remarkably  close,  we  could  lodge  comfortably  in  it,  if  the  weather 
should  not  be  very  cold,  even  if  it  were  not  filled  in.  I  have  a  partition 
of  rough  boards  across  the  loft  of  the  old  house,  which  makes  me  a  com- 
fortable though  unsightly  chamber  to  work  and  sleep  in.  I  have  my 
vise-bench  in  it,  and  I  also  weave  foundations  [for  stocks]  in  it.  But  if 
you  should  come  before  we  have  a  room  in  the  new  house,  then  you  must 
try  to  forget  that  you  are  city  people  and  think  yourselves  travellers  or 
missionaries,  and  you  know  they  often  fare  much  worse  than  to  spend  a 
few  days  among  friends  in  a  rough  old  house." 

"  Cadiz,  Feb.  15, 1836. 
"It  is  likely  that  a  day  has  not  passed  since  you  were  born  in  wdiich 
I  have  not  prayed  for  you  or  in  some  way  tried  so  to  do.     So  now  I  pray 
the  Lord  to  give  you  understanding  in  all  things." 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  for  a  moment  that  these  instruc- 
tions of  his  wise  but  unpretentious  foster-father  were  light- 
ly esteemed  by  the  rising  young  preacher.  They  were  not 
received  by  him  as  the  superfluous  expressions  of  an  over- 
anxious love.  He  had  sense  enough  to  value  them  at  their 
true  worth.  If  the  correspondence  is  not  so  active  on  his 
part,  it  is  full  of  reverence.     Questions  are  asked  on  points 


110  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

of  exegesis,  advice  is  sought  for  upon  matters  of  practical 
import,  and  much  of  his  inner  feeling  in  relation  to  his  pub- 
lic life  is  confidentially  disclosed.  A  more  beautiful  exam- 
ple of  unreserved  intercourse  between  youth  and  age  one 
rarely  meets  with.  In  the  first  letter  we  cite,  the  nephew 
is  quite  astray  on  the  question  of  the  essence  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  and  shows  how  much  he  needs  guidance  in 
theology : 

11  Pittsburgh,  Oct.  20, 1834. 

"I  thank  you  very  much  for  your  several  interesting  letters.  I  was 
indeed  highly  gratified  with  your  remarks  upon  the  drawing  of  the 
heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  also  your  remarks  on  seeing  Him  as  he  is. 
You,  however,  misunderstood  me  respecting  the  word  '  idle.'  The  pas- 
sage to  which  I  referred  is, '  For  every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,' 
etc.,  and  not, '  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle.'  What  was  the 
primary  design  of  the  Christian  Church  ?  To  do  good  to  the  world  at 
large,  or  to  its  members?  My  mind  inclines  to  the  first,  and  consequent- 
ly I  think  no  person  ought  to  be  received  into  the  church  until  qualified 
to  do  some  good.  Hence  children  while  in  infancy  ought  never  to  be 
spoken  of  as  belongiug  to  the  Church,  or  making  part  of  the  body  of 
Christ.  And  the  argument  that  children  make  a  part  of  the  Church  here, 
because  they  constitute  a  part  of  the  one  above,  is  fallacious,  because  that 
state  is  one  of  enjoyment,  this  of  action ;  and  a  child  may  enjoy  though 
it  cannot  act.     Your  thoughts  upon  this  if  you  please. 

"My  health  is  good,  but  my  studies  progress  very  slowly.  I  am  here, 
there,  and  almost  every  place  it  seems  to  me,  with  the  well  and  with  the 
sick ;  jJi'csent  at  almost  every  kind  of  scene  except  marrying,  and  I  have 
so  far  received  more  invitations  for  that  than  any  of  my  brethren,  but  I 
have  to  turn  them  all  over  to  Brother  Hudson. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  my  going  home  ?  Dr.  Rutcr  asked  me  if  I 
would  come  to  Meadville  as  professor  of  chemistry,  etc.,  receive  a  partial 
salary,  and  depend  for  the  rest  upon  my  lancet,  and  added  that  1  could 
have  plenty  of  business,  as  there  was  no  Methodist  physician." 

"  Pittsburgh,  Nov.  10, 1834. 

"  I  get  to  read  or  study  but  little.  Yet  I  can  say,  I  have  learned  more 
of  religious  experience  than  I  ever  knew  before,  and  I  think  this  is  one 
of  the  best  places  for  acquiring  information  of  that  kind  which  I  ever 
knew;  for  we  are  bound  to  converse  with  so  many  different  persons  in 
such  different  circumstances. 

"  Still  write  to  me  as  often  and  as  much  as  you  can,  for  there  is  no  per- 


A    TEXT  STUDIED  EACH  DAY.  m 

son  here  who  can  in  any  degree  supply  your  place.  I  ana  obliged  to  act 
altogether  upon  ray  own  judgment  in  all  I  say  or  do  here,  aud  it  may  be 
that  oftentimes  I  blunder  very  much.  However,  I  try  to  act  right  and 
simply  trust  to  God  for  direction.  Your  letters  you  may  rest  assured 
are  all  carefully  preserved  and  I  think  shall  be. 

|  "  What  do  you  think  was  the  original  meaning  of, '  Thou  shalt  surely 
die  V  Did  it  mean  anything  more  than  what  has  been  taking  place  from 
that  time  to  this? 

"I  have  just  commenced,  with  my  brethren  here,  a  plan  which  will  be 
useful  I  trust.  We  select  a  text  every  day  and  each  writes  a  skeleton, 
and  then  we  compare  and  discourse  upon  the  subjects.  Tell  mother  I 
still  feel  I  am  her  son  and  that  she  is  my  mother,  and  as  soon  as  business 
here  will  justify  I  intend  to  see  her." 

"Pittsburgh,  July  31,  1835. 
"  Conference  closed  about  one  o'clock  to-day,  and  we  have  all  received 
our  appointments ;  mine  is  in  this  city.  C.  Cooke  is  in  charge,  if  the  sta- 
tion is  not  divided.  The  bishop  advised  to  this,  but  if  it  is  desirable  to 
the  people,  he  authorized  them  to  divide,  and  in  that  case  I  have  charge 
of  Liberty  Street.  The  state  of  feeling  for  the  last  few  weeks  has  been 
very  gloomy,  and  many  apprehend  a  squall  only  inferior  to  the  radical 
separation.  God  can  and  will  direct  to  his  glory;  I  shall  need  your 
prayers  more  than  ever;  I  am  truly  in  a  difficult  place.  He  alone  who  is 
the  author  of  wisdom  can  bring  me  safely  through.  The  stationing  for 
this  city  was  very  difficult ;  more  so,  perhaps,  than  it  ever  has  been.  At 
first  I  was  set  at  Williamsport ;  then  the  Liberty  Street  people  peti- 
tioned, and  sent  a  delegation  for  me  to  the  bishop,  at  the  head  of  which 
were  Father  Cooper  and  Dr.  Sellers.  The  presiding  elders  opposed,  and 
succeeded  in  getting  K.  for  Pittsburgh,  and  last  night  sent  me  to  Hud- 
son, a  little  place  one  hundred  and  nine  miles  from  this,  near  the  lake, 
where  nearly  all  are  Presbyterians.  This  morning  the  people  got  word 
of  it,  and  just  as  the  bishop  was  nearly  ready  to  commence  reading  out 
the  appointments  he  received  a  letter  from  Liberty  Street,  which  had 
the  effect  of  placing  me  where  I  am.  I  cannot  now  see  you  for  some 
weeks  until  we  get  things  started ;  as  soon  as  that,  I  will  go  on  a  visit 
of  some  days." 

"Pittsburgh,  Aug.  21,  1835. 
"  You  may  think  my  last  was  gloomy,  yet  all  was  and  is  true.  How- 
ever, prospects  appear  to  be  brightening  in  several  respects.  First,  in  the 
division  of  members  I  have  received  more  than  I  anticipated.  Second, 
although  they  have  refused  an  exchange,  my  congregations  are  as  large  as 
ever,  and  the  impression  is  decidedly  in  my  favor.  Third,  I  have  many 
warm  and  attached  friends,  and  indeed  my  whole  congregation  appears 


112  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

unusually  affectionate.  Fourth,  my  officiary  is  said  to  be  superior  to  any 
ever  in  the  city,  and  I  know  it  to  be  much  preferable  to  that  before  the 
division.  Fifth,  our  class  and  prayer  meetiugs  are  lively  and  profitable. 
And,  sixth,  my  own  liberty  in  preaching  is  very  good.  I  feel  that  I  am 
in  an  opening  sphere,  and  have  been  enabled  thus  far  to  speak  strong 
words,  and  on  last  Sabbath  night  the  feeling  in  the  congregation  was 
unusual.'' 

After  a  six-months'  experience  in  his  new  and  difficult 
position,  the  young  preacher  was  in  better  spirits.  He 
writes  of  great  success,  but  modestly : 

"  Jan.  28, 1S36. 
"  Everything  has  advanced  harmoniously ;  our  society  is  at  peace  with 
me  and  at  peace  with  one  another.  The  spirit  of  prayer  went  up  from 
many  hearts,  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  down.  Our  congregations 
increased  in  number  and  seriousness,  and  occasional  accessions  and  con- 
versions took  place,  until  the  beginning  of  the  month,  when  I  sent  for 
Brother  Dighton  to  come  and  help  me  hold  a  protracted  meeting.  This 
was  done  because  I  thought  he  would  please  the  people,  aud  because  I 
feared  I  would  get  no  old  men  to  help  me  vigorously.  He  came  and 
preached  plainly  and  pointedly  and  faithfully.  The  altar  was  crowded 
with  mourners,  many  were  converted,  and  fifty-four  have  joined  the  church, 
making  a  few  over  a  hundred  since  Conference.  To  God  be  all  the  glory. 
I  still  need  your  prayers  and  advice,  for  only  six  months  of  the  year  are 
past,  and  I  know  that  much  prudence  and  wisdom  will  be  necessary  to 
keep  along  still,  although  I  fondly  hope  the  worst  of  the  storm  is  over." 

It  remained  to  be  seen  whether  his  marriage  would  seri- 
ously withdraw  his  care  from  those  who  remained  in  the 
old  home.  He  had  taken  another  life  into  his  life,  and 
some  change  in  his  relations  to  mother  and  uncle  was  inev- 
itable. His  uncle  had,  it  seems,  expressed  an  apprehension 
of  this,  perhaps  had  chided  him  for  an  apparent  forgetful- 
ness.     lie  replies  in  this  way : 

"Jan.  28,  1836. 
"...  Surely  you  cannot  think  I  could  forget,  while  this  heart  beats  or 
this  mind  acts,  one  who  has  been  so  long  the  object  of  my  warmest  re- 
card,  one  who  '  raised  the  tender  mind,'  who  gave  me  what  little  intel- 
lectual culture  I  may  possess,  and  to  whose  precepts  and  example,  under 
the  blessing  of  Providence,  I  am  indebted  for  those  traits  of  character 
which  have  placed  me  where  I  am.     Can  I  forget  that  uncle  who  nursed 


PASSAGES  FROM  HIS  DIARY.  113 

me  frequently  in  his  arms,  sang  to  me  in  gleeful  mood,  turned  my  infant 
mind  to  science,  supplied  me  Avith  books,  introduced  me  to  public  life, 
rilled  my  mind  with  moral  and  religious  sentiments,  and  followed  me 
from  home  with  prayers  and  his  fondest  wishes,  and,  to  use  his  own  ex- 
pression, felt  that  '  his  life  was  bound  up  in  the  lad's  life  ?'  Can  I  forget 
that  uncle  ?  No,  never, '  while  life  or  thought  or  being  lasts,  or  immor- 
tality endures.' 

*  *  *  *  #  * 

"  The  Sabbath  I  returned  I  preached  twice,  I  believe  to  universal  sat- 
isfaction. Dr.  Sellers  and  many  others  were  pleased  to  say,  as  I  have 
since  heard,  that  I  preached  better  than  ever  I  had  before;  and  some 
said  that  if  marrying  had  that  effect  on  the  preachers  they  wished  they 
would  all  get  married."' 

Uncle  and  mother  were  cherished  with  the  tenderest  af- 
fection, and  spent  most  of  their  latest  years  with  him,  the 
mother  dying  at  his  house. 

The  diary  of  his  life  in  Pittsburgh  in  1835  and  1836 
shows  some  facts  very  plainly.  First,  his  sensitiveness  of 
conscience,  and  the  strictness  with  which  he  watches  over 
himself.  Occasionally  there  are  passages  which  show  an 
almost  morbid  state  of  mind ;  in  these  he  is  unlike  himself, 
for  his  habit  is  of  healthful,  forward-moving  energy.  His 
anxiety  to  be  a  faithful  pastor  is  likewise  apparent,  but  with 
this  appears  too  an  inability  to  settle  down  to. methodical 
study,  which  is  the  chief  defect  of  his  Pittsburgh  life.  How- 
ever, he  is  growing  on  the  practical  side,  and  winning  golden 
opinions  from  the  people: 

"August  27,1835.-1  received  my  appointment  from  the  Conference 
to  the  city  of  Pittsburgh  another  year  with  mingled  and  various  emo- 
tions. Many  of  the  people  I  tenderly  loved,  and  with  them  I  knew  that 
I  could  enjoy  sweet  converse ;  again  I  knew  that  there  was  an  open  door 
to  much  work,  shown  by  there  being  a  large  population  not  attendant 
upon  any  ministry,  and  by  our  having  a  large  house  to  accommodate 
them.  Further,  I  had  every  reason  to  believe  that  I  enjoyed  the  full 
confidence  of  my  entire  congregation.     These  views  were  pleasant. 

But  upon  the  opposite  side  there  was,  first,  my  youth — never  having  had 
charge  of  any  congregation,  and  now  receiving  the  hardest  in  the  Con- 
ference.    Second,  my  want  of  experience,  and  consequently  of  variety. 


114  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Third,  my  having  spent  one  year  "with  the  charge,  and  that  one  of  labor, 
but  blessed  with  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and,  fourth,  that  I 
expected  the  opposition  of  the  Smithfield  Church,  and  also  the  jaundiced 
views  and  expressions  of  my  brethren  in  the  ministry.  These  reflections 
were  far  from  being  agreeable.  The  Conference  rose  the  last  day  of  July, 
and  on  the  same  evening  I  had  an  interview  with  the  bishop  in  presence 
of  Brother  Cooke,  who  is  stationed  at  Smithfield,  in  which  the  bishop 
strongly  recommended  a  frequent  interchange  of  pulpits,  and  that  if 
three  or  four  of  the  Smithfield  people  remained  waspish,  not  to  pay  any 
attention  to  them.  In  the  ensuing  week  we  proceeded  to  the  division 
of  the  station.  On  Wednesday  night,  August  5,  the  officiary  divided 
themselves;  on  Thursday  evening  I  held  my  leaders'  meeting,  and  they 
passed  a  resolution  requesting  an  interchange.  Friday  night  his  leaders 
met  and  he  laid  the  subject  before  them,  when  after-considerable  discus- 
sion, in  which  the  interchange  was  warmly  opposed,  the  subject  was 
postponed,  and  so  it  remains  until  the  present  time.  The  division  has 
thus  far  proceeded  in  an  amicable  spirit  in  the  main,  although  the  ut- 
most effort  has  been  used  to  draw  the  members  and  congregation  to  the 
Smithfield  house.  However,  with  all  this  I  am  receiving  a  very  fair 
proportion  of  members,  and  the  congregation  is  large  and  attentive,  if 
not  increasing.  My  official  meeting  is  harmonious,  and  the  officials 
seem  determined  to  sustain  my  hands,  and  the  members  generally  live 
in  love. 

September  4.— Since  my  last  entry,  by  the  pressure  of  engagements,  and 
the  natural  slothfulness  of  my  habits,  I  have  let  the  time  pass  away  with- 
out any  entries.  I  will  now,  however,  note  the  principal  events.  On 
Saturday  I  read,  wrote,  and  visited.  Sabbath  I  preached  twice.  Mon- 
day I  read  some,  and  visited  some.  At  night  had  a  very  harmonious  and 
pleasant  leaders'  meeting.  In  the  evening  received  and  opened  a  box 
of  books  from  New  York.  Tuesday  made  arrangement  of  books,  wrote 
love-feast  tickets,  and  met  my  class.  Commenced  '  Watson's  Life ;'  find 
it  written  in  a  solid,  agreeable  style.  See  in  it  very  forcibly  the  effects 
which  discouragements  may  have  upon  a  young  preacher,  and  the  almost 
irreparable  injury  which  one  misstep  may  occasion.  Thursday,  sent  for 
a  laro-e  supply  of  Sabbath  school  and  other  books  in  conjunction  with 
Brother  Elliott,  for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  small  depository.  This 
day  (Friday)  I  recommenced  my  weekly  fasts,  which  I  had  suspended 
for  a  few  weeks.  I  desire  a  full  conformity  to  the  mind  which  was  in 
Jesus.  And  oh,  if  God  will  only  make  me  useful  this  year  I  think  my 
whole  soul  will  swell  with  gratitude  to  him. 

October  19. — Since  camp-meeting  our  meetings  have  been  generally 
pretty  good,  although  nothing  special.      My  own  experience  is  not  so 


HIS  MARRIAGE.  115 

satisfactory  as  I  could  wish.  Sometimes  I  have  been  much  drawn  out 
in  prayer  to  God,  and  have  promised  to  give  myself  to  him  in  newness 
of  life,  but  I  as  often  break  my  vows,  forget  my  purposes,  and  live  dead 
and  cold  before  God.  I  often  wonder  that  he  at  all  blesses  my  labors. 
Yesterday  I  was  more  troubled  with  hardness  and  unbelief  than  I  have 
been  on  any  Sabbath  for  a  long  time.  This  morning  I  think  I  feel  de- 
termined, Deo  juvante,  to  live  more  methodically,  to  fill  up  my  time  bet- 
ter, to  spend  less  in  conversation,  to  visit  more  from  house  to  house,  and 
to  study  my  sermons  more.  I  think  I  will  write  two  hours  every  day, 
partly  notes  of  sermons,  partly  original  thoughts,  essays,  diary,  etc.  Oh, 
that  I  might  be  a  faithful  steward  of  the  grace  of  God. 

October  21.— Yesterday  I  attended  to  some  perplexing  business,  in 
which  I  became  involved  by  marrying  a  couple  improperly.  Have  not 
yet  got  it  settled.  Have  not  written  two  hours  per  day,  but  think  that 
I  am  becoming  more  systematic.  Had  a  very  good  class  yesterday  after- 
noon.    Oli,  that  I  might  grow  in  both  grace  and  knowledge. 

Tuesday,  Oct.  27. —  On  Wednesday  evening  Brother  Hunter  arrived 
from  Williamsport,  where  he  is  stationed  this  year,  and  preached  for 
me  at  night.  On  Saturday  I  rode  to  Williamsport  to-  preach  for  him, 
while  he  remained  in  the  city  and  preached  for  me.  On  Sabbath  heard 
the  celebrated  T.  H.  Stockton,  of  the  Reformed  Methodist  Church,  preach 
a  beautiful  sermon  on  the  Resurrection.  At  night  preached  to  an  at- 
tentive congregation.  Returned  on  Monday.  And  on  Saturday  finally 
settled  my  marriage  suit  by  paying  one  hundred  and  forty  dollars  and 
twenty-five  cents.     A  pretty  considerable  sum  for  one  marriage  scrape. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  3.— This  day  rode  about  twelve  miles  into  the  country, 
and  married  a  young  man  of  my  acquaintance,  returned  the  same  after- 
noon, and  at  six  o'clock  was  united  in  matrimony  to  Miss  Ellen  H.  Verner, 
daughter  of  Mr.  James  Verner,  of  this  city.  Mr.  Coston  performed  the 
ceremony.  We  had  been  engaged  since  the  nineteenth  of  September, 
and  I  trust  that  this  union  may  be  beneficial  in  a  high  degree  to  our- 
selves and  to  others.  On  Wednesday  morning  started  to  see  my  people, 
in  the  Beaver,  and  arrived  about  four  o'clock.  Remained  with  them 
until  Friday,  and  arrived  amid  a  shower  of  rain  in  the  city.  Saturday 
morning  at  five  o'clock  held  Quarterly  Conference.  Brother  Hopkins,  the 
presiding  elder,  would  not  attend  because  it  was  so  early.  It  being  quar- 
terly meeting,  I  preached  Saturday  night  and  twice  on  Sunday.  I  sel- 
dom have  enjoyed  more  liberty  in  preaching  than  I  did  on  the  Sabbath 
before  aud  after  my  marriage.  For  this  I  was  truly  thankful,  as  it  would 
prevent  any  idea  of  my  being  less  useful  and  devoted  than  formerly. 
The  whole  arrangement  appears  to  be  peculiarly  providential,  for  al- 
though people  are  so  apt  to  be  dissatisfied  with  their  ministers  marrying, 


116  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

yet  in  my  congregation  up  to  this  time  (Nov.  2G)  I  have  heard  nothing 
but  approbation." 

Preachers  in  those  days  were  almost  invariably  disciplined 
if  they  married  before  they  had  "  travelled"  four  full  years. 
This  was  only  the  third  year  of  Simpson's  itinerant  life. 

"■November  27. — I  am  trying  to  improve  my  time  some  better  than  for- 
merly. I  board  at  Mr.  Verner's,  where  we  have  a  very  comfortable  room. 
I  have  the  use  of  Mr.  Coston's  library,  and  since  my  marriage  have  read 
a  number  of  books.  My  prayer  is  to  see  my  heart  more  fully,  know  all 
my  imperfections,  repent  of  all  my  sins,  have  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad 
in  my  heart,  and  be  enabled  in  all  things  to  discharge  my  duty  both  to 
God  and  man. 

November  30. — Yesterday  I  preached  three  times,  once  in  the  Smith- 
tield  church,  and  enjoyed  myself  very  well,  but  yet,  owing  to  my  living 
so  far  from  God,  I  see  very  little  fruit  of  all  my  labors.  My  principal 
hinderauces  are,  first,  indolence — I  do  not  fill  up  my  time  as  carefully  as  I 
ought ;  secondly,  timidity — I  suffer  myself,  for  fear  of  offending  people,  to 
have  my  time  run  away  with,  I  pray  too  little,  and  visit  too  little,  and 
when  I  do  visit  do  not  converse  as  closely  as  I  ought.  This  day  makes 
up  four  months  since  Conference ;  one  third  of  the  year  has  passed  away, 
and  I  have  spent  my  time  more  pleasantly  than  I  had  at  all  anticipated. 
The  church  has  prospered  more  than  I  thought  it  would,  but  much  less 
than  it  would  had  I  been  more  faithful.  Oh,  for  a  closer  walk  with  God, 
and  more  burning  zeal  for  souls. 

December  7. — Since  my  last  entry,  the  weather  having  been  unusually 
severe,  I  have  visited  less  than  usual.  I  purpose,  however,  to  commence 
afresh.  Last  Friday,  being  Conference  fast,  I  preached  morning  and 
night,  and  yesterday  once  on  infant  baptism,  besides  administering  the 
Sacrament  and  preaching  again  at  night.  I  have  not  zeal  as  I  should 
have.  Oh,  that  I  may  acquire  a  proper  spirit  before  God  in  the  dis- 
charge of  all  my  duties ! 

Monday  morning,  Dec.  14. — Yesterday  preached  three  times.  I  think  it 
would  be  more  profitable  for  the  congregation  were  the  same  person  not 
to  address  them  more  than  twice.  This,  however,  cannot  be  the  case  at 
present,  owing  to  the  sentiments  of  some  who  stand  at  the  head  of  affairs 
in  the  congregations.  In  the  afternoon  had  President  Morgan  to  hear  me. 
T  invited  him  into  the  pulpit,  and  he  closed  meeting  after  me.  I  think 
Providence  is  showing  me  my  evil  heart  in  an  unusually  clear  light.  Self- 
ishness is  so  mingled  with  all  I  say  and  do  I  sometimes  fear  it  is  all  abomi- 
nation in  the  sight  of  God.     Oh,  for  the  spirit  of  constant  watchfulness." 


THE  STRUGGLES    OF  AN  EARNEST  SPIRIT.         H7 

February  2,  1836.  — "Well  was  it  said  'procrastination  is  the  thief  of 
time.'  A  month  and  a  half  have  passed  since  my  last  entry,  and  nearly 
all  the  time  I  have  been  thinking  that  I  would  write.  I  am,  indeed,  a 
strange  compound:  now,  fall  of  good  wishes  and  desires;  again,  lost  to 
all  feelings  of  spiritual  ambition.  Now  I  resolve  to  abound  in  every 
good  work,  and  again  yield  to  slothfulness ;  now  I  promise  how  much  I 
will  do  this  very  day,  and  then  night  finds  me  with  nothing  done.  Mr. 
Dighton  assisted  me  in  holding  a  protracted  meeting  the  middle  of  last 
month,  which  resulted  in  much  apparent  good — fifty-two  joined  society, 
and  many  professed  conversion.  Since  then  the  work  has  been  going 
gradually  forward.  Last  night  we  closed  our  quarterly  meeting  with  a 
love-feast,  which  was  rather  dull,  but  a  few  joined  society. 

March  1. — -Another  month  has  passed  away,  or  nearly  so,  since  an  en- 
try. It  does  absolutely  seem  to  me  that  I  cannot  conquer  this  evil  heart. 
I  know  that  God  has  the  power  and  that  he  is  willing  to  exercise  it  in 
my  behalf,  but  I  do  not  see  it  and  feel  it.  I  think  that  I  would  fain 
give  myself  anew  to  God,  but  my  'heart  is  deceitful  and  desperately 
wicked.'  I  know  that  I  have  time  and  that  I  ought  to  write  a  little  ev- 
ery day,  yet,  so  slothful  am  I,  that  week  after  week  finds  me  still  delaying. 
Sometimes  I  have  seemed  to  lie  on  the  edge  of  the  pool,  but  now  I  can- 
not say  that  I  am  so  near.  '  Now  far  from  thee  I  lie ;  oh,  Jesus,  raise  me 
higher.'  This  day  I  have  seen  my  own  unfaithfulness  in  a  very  repre- 
hensible light  indeed.  I  have  not  visited  the  sick ;  I  have  not  sought 
the  weak;  I  have  not  prayed,  nor  preached,  nor  anything  else  as  I  ought 
to  have  done.  Oh,  Lord,  without  thy  graces  and  thyself,  I  am  a  wretch 
undone. 

March  8. — Intermitted  diary  a  few  days.  I  am  more  than  ever  con- 
vinced that  that  which  is  not  done  for  the  glory  of  God  will  in  the  end 
produce  confusion;  that  pain  and  sorrow  are  the  only  rewards  for  flying 
from  duty.  Oh,  my  treacherous  heart,  what  will  become  of  thee  !  I  feel 
that  I  am  far  from  God ;  almost  dead  and  buried  in  sin  and  hardness  of 
heart.  I  know  there  is  still  hope  through  Jesus;  but  whether  I  shall 
ever  reach  my  'Father's  house  and  in  his  bosom  rest'  seems  very  un- 
certain. My  prayers,  my  sermons,  my  all,  are,  I  fear,  abomination  in 
the  sight  of  God.  Oh,  my  soul,  when  wilt  thou  know,  feel,  and  do 
better  ? 

March  9. — Still  I  am  under  deep  confusion  before  God  for  my  neglects 
of  duty,  my  wanderings  of  mind,  and  my  sinful  propensities.  Can  I  be 
truly  converted  and  yet  be  thus  ?  O  God,  take  some  means  to  bring 
me  right." 

It  may,  and  very  naturally  will,  be  asked  "  What  are  we 


118  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

to  think  of  this  frequent  bemoaning  of  his  spiritual  state  ?" 
One  answer  is  quickly  suggested:  it  shows  a  constant 
watchfulness  over  himself,  and  a  careful  sifting  of  the  mo- 
tives of  his  public  life.  To  get  rid  of  self-seeking,  self-grat- 
ulation,  and  to  lose  sight  of  himself  in  the  service  of  the 
Master  whom  he  followed,  are  worth  the  honest  struggle 
which  he  made.  His  after-life  proved  that  these  endeavors 
had  not  been  in  vain ;  for  from  the  vice  of  self-seeking  he 
was  wholly  free ;  he  rose  from  place  to  place  because  he 
was  sought  for  and  compelled  to  ascend.  His  indisposition 
to  write,  unless  under  pressure  of  necessity,  was  never  over- 
come ;  he  had  not  trained  himself  to  do  his  thinking,  pen 
in  hand,  but  meditated,  more  satisfactorily  to  himself,  with- 
out the  pen. 

With  the  appointment  to  Williamsport  his  pastoral  life 
closed.  In  reviewing  it  several  facts  are  clear :  one  is  that 
it  was  a  laborious  life.  He  literally  went  about  doing  good 
in  every  possible  way  to  all.  He  was  a  much-visiting  pas- 
tor, and  especially  attentive  to  the  poor.  Remembering  his 
own  early  experience,  he  was  ever  on  the  outlook  for  prom- 
ising young  men,  and  urged  them  forward  in  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge.  One  whom  he  thus  aided  was  Professor  Ham- 
nett,  long  one  of  the  faculty  of  Allegheny  College,  and  now 
the  college  librarian.  "  I  was,"  sa}Ts  the  professor,  "  a  boy 
in  Pittsburgh  at  the  time  Bishop  Simpson  was  in  Liberty 
Street  Church.  My  father  was  a  tanner  and  currier,  and  I 
learned  that  trade.  Mr.  Simpson  encouraged  me  and  two 
others  to  try  to  be  educated,  assuring  us  that  God  would 
take  care  of  us.  Before  the  party  of  three  started  for 
Meadville  on  foot  he  had  us  to  call  at  his  study  and  prayed 
with  us.  This  was  early  in  the  morning  of  a  summer  day. 
I  went  to  college  with  ten  dollars  only  in  the  world." 

He  was  equally  watchful  to  do  good  to  young  men  who 
had  no  such  stirrings  of  ambition  as  Hamnett.  At  one  time, 
while  in  Pittsburgh,  probably  during  the  first  year  of  his 
ministry  there,  he  boarded  with  Mr.  Joseph  "Woodwell.    Mr. 


GOOD  ADVICE   TO  A   STUDENT.  119 

W.  had  a  number  of  apprentices,  who  had  an  early  break- 
fast before  the  rest  of  the  family.  Mr.  Simpson  would  at 
times  take  breakfast  with  them,  in  order  to  gain  an  influ- 
ence, by  this  personal  intercourse,  over  their  minds. 

His  interest  in  those  whose  welfare  he  had  at  heart  did 
not  soon  abate.  He  wrote  to  Hamnett  after  the  latter  had 
gone  to  Meadville ;  one  of  his  letters  from  Williamsport,  in 
1837,  is  remarkable  both  for  its  wise  counsels  and  its  vigor- 
ous expression.  This  young  friend  was  disposed  to  rush 
through  his  college  studies,  and  is  dissuaded  from  attempt- 
ing to  do  so : 

"  Williamsport,  Jan.  16, 1837. 

"  But  you  know  that  the  old  proverb  runs, '  the  more  haste  the  less 
speed,'  and  this  is  especially  true  in  reference  to  excessive  haste  in  lit- 
erature. My  opinion  is  that  you  may  accomplish  the  work  in  the  time 
specified,  but  I  fear  that  if  you  apply  yourself  from  G  a.m.  to  11  p.m. 
without  taking  considerable  recreation,  you  will  produce  a  latent  disease, 
and  this  in  time  will  exhibit  itself  in  languor  of  spirits,  dejection  of 
mind,  pain  in  the  head,  fulness  of  stomach,  capricious  appetite,  cold 
feet,  and  a  host  of  symptoms  which,  though  generally  disregarded,  ad- 
monish that  the  system  is  near  prostration.  You  should  also  bear  this 
truth  in  mind,  that  when  the  body  is  thus  enfeebled,  the  powers  of  the 
mind  are  weakened,  if  not  in  the  same  proportion,  yet  to  a  great  extent. 
And  although  you  may  finish  your  collegiate  course  without  any  '  spell 
of  sickness,'  yet  if  you  enfeeble  your  system,  you  will  bring  with  you 
into  the  grand  work  of  saving  the  human  family  a  body  and  mind 
partially  paralyzed.  And  yet  what  work  requires  such  perfect  powers 
as  that  upon  which  you  design  to  enter !  Let  me  then  advise  you 
strongly,  'Take  care  of  your  health  at  all  hazards,'  and  let  my  admoni- 
tion have  the  more  weight,  as  I  have  felt  some  of  the  evils  of  a  contrary 
course. 

"With  your  arrangement  of  studies,  so  far  as  you  informed  me,  I  am 
well  pleased,  and  I  hope  you  will  persevere  in  studying,  especially  the 
Septuagint,  not  merely  as  a  task  or  lesson,  but  that  you  may  be  fur- 
nished thoroughly  for  Bible  criticism.  Let  others  regard  it  as  they  may, 
for  us  nothing  is  so  useful  as  to  be  expert  in  wielding  'the  sword  of 
the  spirit,  the  word  of  God.'  And  while  I  urge  you  on  the  one  hand 
against  excessive  study,  let  me  guard  you  on  the  other  against  yielding 
to  hypochondriacal  fears,  which  would  make  you  believe  that  you  are 
continually  trembling  over  a  premature   grave,  and  consequently  that 


120  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

you  are  unfit  for  serious  study.     In  these  matters  it  would  be  well  to 
take  frequent  counsel  with  your  instructors." 

Another  fact  which  becomes  clear  in  the  review  of  his 
pastoral  life,  is  that  it  gave  unquestioned  intimations  of  his 
power  as  a  speaker.  He  found  his  way  at  once  to  the 
hearts  of  men.  Dr.  Sellers,  his  friend  and  critic,  predicted 
a  great  career  for  him,  and  in  his  own  house  would  often 
call  this  young  pastor  bishop.  When  put  in  charge  of  the 
Liberty  Street  Church,  he  had  nothing  to  rely  upon  but  his 
character  and  his  attractiveness  as  a  speaker.  Any  failure 
to  meet  the  demands  of  the  position  would  have  been  fol- 
lowed by  a  transfer  of  the  bulk  of  his  congregation  to  a 
rival  church.  No  ties  woven  by  long  habit  attracted  the 
people  to  Liberty  Street  as  a  separate  organization.  He 
met  the  test  fully  and  closed  the  year  triumphantly.  It 
may  be  said  here  as  well  as  elsewhere  that  throughout  his 
public  life  Bishop  Simpson  was  most  reticent  in  relation  to 
his  successes  in  the  pulpit.  One  might  read  all  his  confi- 
dential letters  to  his  family,  and  never  find  out  that  he  was 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  orators  of  his  time.  His  most 
frequent  account  of  himself  in  these  is  that  he  "  had  a 
moderate  time  only."  Occasionally  there  is  mention  of  "  a 
great  crowd,"  and  especially  of  a  great  crowd  at  an  open- 
air  service,  but  nothing  more. 

I  think  it  may  be  said,  too,  that  in  this  pastoral  period  of 
four  years  he  had  settled  upon  the  mode  of  pulpit  prepara- 
tion to  which  he  adhered  to  the  end  of  his  life.  It  is  a 
hazardous  method  for  any  one  wrho  has  not  the  resources  of 
genius  to  draw  upon.  He  preached  from  skeletons,  and,  as 
has  been  seen,  came  to  his  Saturday  nights  with  no  other 
preparation  than  his  note-book  of  texts,  his  meditations,  and 
the  rich  material  supplied  by  daily  contact  with  his  people. 
His  visiting  of  his  congregation  was  not  social,  but  strictly 
pastoral,  and  it  lay  largely  among  the  poor,  the  tried,  and 
the  suffering.  His  sympathetic  nature  must  have  been  deep- 
ly stirred  by  much  that  he  saw  during  the  week.     He  was 


METHOD    OF  PULPIT  PREPARATION.  121 

also  a  close  student  of  the  Bible,  and  had  the  most  profound 
conviction  of  its  absolute  truth  and  authority.  Even  with 
these  resources,  and  his  own  heart-felt  experience  added,  he 
needed  to  be  a  rapid  workman  to  get  himself  ready  for  the 
requirements  of  each  Sunday  in  so  short  a  space  of  time. 
But  he  was  a  rapid  workman  and  had  unusual  constructive 
power.  His  methods  underwent  no  change  in  after-life. 
In  his  later  years  he  would  walk  his  room  for  a  couple 
of  hours  before  going  to  the  pulpit,  meditating  his  theme ; 
when  on  the  point  of  starting  for  church,  he  would  sit  down 
and  draw  off  a  skeleton,  which  would  be  left  lying  on  the 
table  where  it  was  written. 


VI. 

PROFESSOR   IN   ALLEGHENY    COLLEGE 
AND    VICE-PRESIDENT. 

1S37-1839. 


The  Beginnings  of  Higher  Education  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
— Asbury's  Notice  of  the  School  in  Uniontown. — Dr.  Alden,  the  Founder 
of  Madison  College. — The  Madison  Merged  in  the  Allegheny  School. 
— Young  Simpson  Elected  to  the  Chair  of  Natural  Science. — Success 
as  a  Teacher. — A  Close  Reader  of  the  Books  of  a  Choice  Library. — 
Elected  President  of  the  Indiana  Asbury  University  in  1838-9. — Rough 
Journey  to  Indiana. — His  own  Review  of  his  Life  in  Meadville. — The 
Course  of  Natural  Science  in  Allegheny  College. —Repairs  the  Appa- 
ratus with  his  own  Hands. — His  Various  Reading  in  these  Years. 


BISHOP  ASBUBY  AT   UNIONTOWN.  125 


VI. 

It  was  not  possible  that  a  man  of  such  vigor  as  Matthew- 
Simpson  should  remain  long  in  obscurity.  The  church 
whose  service  he  had  entered  was  beginning  anew  the  task 
of  educating  the  people.  Its  early  efforts  to  this  end  had 
not  been  successful ;  but  the  founder  of  American  Method- 
ism, Bishop  Asbury,  bravely  persevered,  in  the  face  of  re- 
peated failures  of  his  plans.  Before  the  beginning  of  our 
century  the  Methodists  had  founded  the  school  in  which 
Simpson,  the  youth,  had  received  his  very  brief  college 
training.  The  good  Bishop  Asbury,  May  31,  1792,  makes 
this  entry  in  his  journal.  He  was  crossing  the  country 
northward  from  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  then  almost  a 
wilderness.  It  was  the  practice  of  travellers  over  this  route, 
as  a  protection  against  Indian  attacks,  to  move  in  large 
parties:  "Pennsylvania — -Both  men  and  horses  travelled 
sore  and  weary  to  Uniontown.  Oh,  how  good  are  clean 
houses,  plentiful  tables,  and  populous  villages,  when  com- 
pared with  the  rough  world  we  came  through.  Here  I 
turned  out  our  poor  horses  to  pasture  and  rest,  after  riding 
them  nearly  three  hundred  miles  in  eight  days."  At  Union- 
town  the  tired  wayfarer  tarried  nearly  two  wreeks,  and  adds 
to  the  above  entry  :  *  "  We  have  founded  a  Union  School ; 
Brother  C.  Conaway  is  manager,  who  also  has  charge  of  the 
district.  This  establishment  is  designed  for  instruction  in 
grammar,  languages,  and  the  sciences." 

"  Grammar,  languages,  and  the  sciences ;"  this  was  the 
foundation,  and  no  other  was  thought  of  in  the  last  century. 

*  See  "  Early  Schools  of  Methodism,"  by  A.  W.  Cummings,  pp.  59-62. 


126  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

One  cannot  but  admire  the  ambition  of  our  church  fathers 
to  build  up  culture  solidly  on  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics. 
What  the  most  of  them  did  not  know  they  were  resolved 
their  sons  should  know,  and  wrought  in  faith  till  their  strug- 
gles were  crowned  with  victory.  By  1826  Union  School  had 
expanded  into  Madison  College,  where,  as  we  have  seen, 
Simpson  spent  two  months,  under  the  care,  among  others, 
of  Bascom  and  Elliott.  In  the  year  1833  the  Presbyterians 
of  Pennsylvania  transferred  their  college  in  Meadville  to 
the  Methodists ;  Madison  College  was  thereupon  closed  as 
a  Methodist  school  and  merged  in  the  new  organization. 
This  magnificent  gift  of  Presbyterianism,  like  that  other 
gift  to  us  of  Dickinson,  in  Central  Pennsylvania,  deserves 
to  be  gratefully  recorded.  It  enabled  a  young  and  grow- 
ing religious  body  to  enter  upon  its  educational  career  with 
better  equipments  than  could  then  have  been  furnished  from 
its  own  slender  resources.  The  Presbyterians  had  still  re- 
maining in  Western  Pennsylvania  colleges  at  Pittsburgh, 
Canonsburg,  and  Washington,  and  felt,  no  doubt,  that  they 
could  well  afford  to  spare  what  they  gave.  The  spirit  of 
the  founders  of  Allegheny  was  very  Catholic.  One  of  the 
articles  of  organization  required  that  the  institution  should 
be  conducted  "  on  liberal  principles,  no  person  having  any 
advantage,  or  being  subjected  to  any  disadvantage,  on  ac- 
count of  his  religious  views." 

This  college  was  the  product  of  the  zeal  and  energy  of 
the  Rev.  Timothy  Alden,  of  New  York.  Removing  from 
that  city  to  Meadville  in  1815,  he  resolved  on  founding 
a  school  of  learning,  enlisted  the  co-operation  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Meadville,  and  procured  a  charter.  At  this  time 
the  village  contained  only  seven  hundred  persons,  and  the 
County  of  Crawford,  of  which  it  was  the  county-seat,  not 
more  than  nine  thousand.  At  the  first  commencement, 
held  in  the  court-house,  July  25,  1S1T,  the  audience  were 
treated  to  a  Latin  address  to  the  president  by  one  of  the  cit- 
izens, a  reply  in  Latin  by  the  president,  Mr.  Alden,  a  prayer 


A    COLLEGE   WITH  A    GOOD  LLBRART.  127 

in  Latin,  a  Latin  oration,  a  Hebrew  oration,  a  Latin  dia- 
logue, and  an  English  dialogue.  It  is  said  by  the  historian 
of  the  occasion  that  in  the  basement  of  the  court-house 
where  the  commencement  was  held  was  the  county  jail,  and 
that  "  the  prisoners  must  have  had  the  benefit  of  this  intel- 
lectual treat."  *  The  ambitious  purpose  of  young  Simpson 
to  graduate  with  the  delivery  of  a  Hebrew  oration  was  not 
without  precedent ;  it  was  in  harmony  with  the  old  order 
of  Allegheny  College.  Best  of  all,  Mr.  Alden  had  the  sa- 
gacity to  perceive  that  the  one  thing  needful  for  his  college 
was  a  store  of  good  books  :  he  had  the  thought  which  Car- 
lyle  expressed  afterwards,  that  the  true  modern  university 
is  a  great  library.  He  succeeded  in  securing,  by  bequest, 
the  collection  of  the  Rev.  William  Bentley,  of  Salem,  Mass., 
considered  at  the  time  one  of  the  best  belonging  to  a  private 
person  in  the  United  States.  It  was  especially  rich  in  the 
Latin  and  Greek  church  fathers,  and  was  the  means  of  do- 
ing more  for  the  intellectual  growth  of  Professor  Matthew 
Simpson  than  all  the  advantages,  excellent  as  they  were, 
which  he  had  before  enjoyed.  The  call  to  the  chair  of  nat- 
ural sciences  in  Allegheny  College  was  made  in  1837,  while 
he  was  pastor  at  Williamsport ;  in  the  same  year  he  was 
elected  vice-president  of  the  faculty.  His  autobiography 
narrates  this  change,  and  his  entrance  on  his  new  mode  of 
life: 

"  A  little  after  the  middle  of  my  Conference  year  I  re- 
ceived notice  of  my  election  as  professor  of  natural  science 
in  Allegheny  College.  Dr.  Buter,  its  president,  had  felt 
himself  called  to  undertake  a  mission  to  Texas,  then  just 

*  The  dominance  of  the  classic  spirit  in  Mr.  Alden,  mingled,  it  is  true, 
with  reverence  for  Puritanism,  is  nowhere  better  seen  than  in  the  ac- 
count of  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  college.  In  the  cavity  of 
the  stone,  besides  a  fragment  of  Plymouth  Rock,  were  placed  "  a  piece 
of  marble  broken  from  a  pillar  which  tradition  states  to  have  belonged 
to  Queen  Dido's  temple  in  ancient  Carthage ;  a  specimen  of  plaster  from 
the  tomb  of  Virgil,"  with  more  of  a  like  kind. 


128  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

opened  to  American  population  and  Protestantism.  Be- 
ing about  to  resign  the  presidency,  Dr.  Clark,  who  had 
been  professor  of  mathematics  and  natural  science,  was 
elected  president,  and  I  was  elected  to  the  chair  of  natural 
science,  he  remaining  professor  of  mathematics.  The  ap- 
pointment was  not  to  go  into  effect  until  the  first  of  May. 
After  consultation  with  my  friends  I  agreed  to  accept.  Be- 
fore that  time  Dr.  Ruter  had  advised  with  me  about  accept- 
ing a  professorship  in  La  Grange  College,  Alabama,  the 
presidency  of  which  was  then  offered  to  him.  lie  desired 
to  go  if  I  would  take  a  position  under  him,  but  I  had  de- 
clined at  that  time,  telling  him  I  would  not  accept  any  pro- 
fessorship until  I  had  completed  my  four  years'  course  in 
the  ministry.  As  this  would  close  at  the  coming  Confer- 
ence, and  as  he  and  other  friends  strongly  urged  my  going 
to  Allegheny,  in  the  latter  part  of  April  my  pulpit  was 
supplied,  and  I  left  for  Meadville,  where  I  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  my  office. 

"  I  found,  upon  my  arrival,  that  I  was  expected  to  teach 
not  only  the  elements  of  natural  science,  for  which  there 
was  a  handsome  apparatus,  but  that  I  was  also  expected  to 
teach  some  classes  in  mathematics — one  of  these  was  in  sur- 
veying and  navigation.  After  a  few  weeks  I  returned  to 
Pittsburgh,  where  my  wife  had  remained  with  her  parents 
for  the  time  being,  and  where  she  was  confined  by  a  pro- 
tracted illness  after  the  birth  of  our  first  son.  I  also  at- 
tended the  session  of  the  Pittsburgh  Conference,  which  was 
held  at  Steubenville,  Ohio,  in  July,  1837,  and  there  I  was 
ordained  elder  by  Bishop  Roberts.  Dr.  Ruter,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  college,  left  very  shortly  after  my  arrival,  tak- 
ing the  Pittsburgh  Conference  in  his  way  on  his  route  to 
Texas.  He  was  a  very  pleasant  gentleman,  amiable  and 
yet  decided ;  a  man  of  great  industry,  and  fair,  rather  than 
brilliant,  talent.  lie  had  edited  an  abridged  work  on  church 
history,  had  been  professor  in  Augusta  College  at  a  very 
early  period,  and  had  been  in  charge  of  the  Book  Concern  at 


TEE   GIFT   OF  PRESBYTERIANISM.  129 

Cincinnati.  One  among  his  earliest  undertakings  in  Texas 
was  the  founding  of  a  literary  institution ;  but,  partly  from 
overwork  and  partly  from  the  influence  of  the  climate,  he 
was  prostrated  by  sickness,  and  died  before  he  was  able  to 
accomplish  much.  His  successor  in  the  presidency,  Homer 
J.  Clark,  was  a  graduate  of  the  Ohio  University  at  Athens, 
had  been  a  member  of  the  Pittsburgh  Conference  for  several 
years,  was  very  popular  as  a  preacher  in  the  city  of  Pitts- 
burgh, and  had  served  as  professor  in  Madison  and  Alleghe- 
ny colleges.  He  was  a  chaste  and  eloquent  speaker,  a  man 
of  clear  thought  and  beautiful  expression,  and  was  a  suc- 
cessful teacher.  He  was,  however,  more  successful  in  teach- 
ing than  in  administration.  Professor  G.  W.  Clark  had 
charge  of  the  department  of  Latin  and  Greek  when  I  took 
my  place  in  the  institution,  and  Calvin  Kingsley,  an  active 
and  devoted  young  man,  was  tutor  of  a  few  classes.  He 
afterwards  graduated  with  honor,  held  a  professorship  for 
a  number  of  years,  became  editor  of  The  Western  Christian 
Advocate,  and  in  1804  was  elected  bishop. 

"  The  college  department  was  not  very  largely  attended. 
The  institution  had  been  originally  founded  in  1816,  princi- 
pally through  the  influence  of  Dr.  Alden,  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  and,  while  its  charter  was  general,  it  was  under 
the  control  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  But  as  the  popu- 
lation of  Western  Pennsylvania  was  small,  and  as  that 
church  had  in  Pennsylvania  Jefferson  College  at  Canons- 
burg  and  Washington  College  at  Washington,  they  had  not 
patronage  for  more,  and  the  students  were  very  few.  It 
became  financially  embarrassed,  and  a  proposition  was  made 
by  the  trustees  to  place  it  under  the  care  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  The  school  at  Uniontown,  called  Madi- 
son College,  had  but  poor  buildings,  no  endowment,  and 
the  transfer  to  Allegheny  was  easily  made.  The  main 
building  was  good,  and  there  was  a  large  library  and  a  fair 
laboratory  for  that  era.  The  students  in  attendance  were 
chiefly  in  preparatory  classes,  though  there  were  also  small 
9 


130  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

college  classes.  Of  the  students,  some  were  very  bright — 
young  men  who  have  since  made  their  mark  on  their  coun- 
try's history.  As  the  buildings  were  on  the  hill,  at  least 
half  a  mile  from  the  town,  the  college  held  but  one  session 
a  day.  I  had  charge  of  six  classes,  embracing  those  in  nat- 
ural science,  sometimes  one  or  two  in  mathematics,  and  oc- 
casionally one  in  languages.  As  the  professors  were  few  in 
number,  such  distribution  was  made  as  enabled  us  to  give 
proper  supervision  to  all.  The  students  were  generally 
young  men  making  their  own  way  in  life,  and  were  indus- 
trious and  orderly ;  occasionally  there  were  cases  of  disci- 
pline, involving  some  difficulty,  but  these  were  comparative- 
ly rare. 

"  In  the  autumn  of  1837  I  removed  from  the  house  which 
Dr.  Ruter  had  occupied,  and  which  was  on  the  edge  of  the 
town,  to  one  on  the  public  square,  that  my  family  might 
have  more  society,  and  there  we  remained  until  I  left 
Meadville  in  the  spring  of  1839.  Yery  shortly  after  tak- 
ing charge  of  my  department  I  was  also  elected  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  institution,  and  was  thus  associated  more  or  less 
with  Dr.  Clark  in  administrative  duties.  Professor  Allen, 
a  West  Point  graduate,  was  made,  shortly  after  my  elec- 
tion, the  professor  of  mathematics.  He  was  an  able  pro- 
fessor, diligent  and  attentive,  "but  quick  in  his  conceptions, 
so  that  he  was  sometimes  impatient  with  the  students.  His 
sister,  then  living  with  him,  was  subsequently  married  to 
Jay  Cooke,  so  widely  known  as  a  financier.  Towards  the 
close  of  my  connection  with  the  institution  he  was  of- 
fered a  professorship  in  Kentucky,  and  Dr.  Barker  was 
elected  to  succeed  him,  and  subsequently  became  presi- 
dent. The  library  of  the  college  was  large  for  those  days. 
and,  among  other  books,  had  a  collection  of  the  church 
fathers  in  Greek  and  Latin,  which  I  prized  highly  and  care- 
fully read.  Little  of  moment  occurred  in  my  college  life.  I 
took,  however,  a  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
visiting  the   charges  within  from   six  to  twenty  miles  of 


METHODISM  IN  MEADVILLE.  131 

Meaclville,  and  assisting  also  in  quarterly  and  protracted 
meetings,  and  in  the  founding  and  dedication  of  churches. 
I  also  had  a  class  of  young  men,  who  met  me  on  Sunday 
afternoons  at  my  house  and  read  the  Greek  Testament. 
Among  the  members  of  this  class  were  Gordon  Battelle, 
who  became  a  distinguished  minister,  and  Frank  II.  Pier- 
pont,  afterwards  governor  of  Western  Virginia.  To  these 
two  men,  who  were  members  of  the  convention  called  to 
frame  the  Constitution  of  West  Virginia,  were  its  freedom 
from  slaver}^  and  its  school  system  largely  due.  Battelle 
accepted  a  chaplaincy  during  the  war,  and  died  of  typhoid 
fever.  Pierpont  became  governor,  and  is  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  bar.  About  the  time  of  my  accepting  the 
professorship  I  received  from  Dr.  Elliot,  who  had  removed 
to  Cincinnati,  a  most  earnest  letter  urging  me  to  prepare 
for  wider  Christian  work,  assuring  me  that  my  services 
would  be  needed  in  some  larger  sphere,  and  advising  me  to 
read  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  and  the  writings 
of  the  fathers,  and  to  make  myself  acquainted  with  all  the 
great  questions  of  controvers}7.  I  received  it  as  a  friendly 
suggestion  from  a  partial  friend,  but  did  not  change  my 
course,  as  I  had  from  youth  an  insatiable  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge for  its  own  sake,  and  was  anxious,  to  the  full  measure 
of  my  strength,  to  improve  every  opportunity. 

"  I  assisted  in  introducing  Methodism  into  Seagerstown, 
where,  at  a  protracted  meeting  we  held,  the  leaders  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  who  had  controlled  the  village,  came  for- 
ward and  read  a  paper  protesting  against  k  the  errors  of 
Methodism,'  as  they  styled  them.  After  they  had  finished 
reading  their  protest,  we  went  on  without  making  any  al- 
lusion whatever  to  them,  and  were  gratified  to  witness  a 
precious  revival  of  religion.  Methodism  had  encountered 
great  difficulties  in  its  establishment  in  Meaclville,  as  the 
public  opinion  of  the  country  was  very  unfavorable  to  it. 
A  union  church  had  been  built  by  the  citizens,  but  the  Pres- 
byterians, being  the  strongest  body,  had  taken  possession  of 


132  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

it ;  gradually  the  other  denominations,  one  by  one,  had  se- 
cured lots  and  built  churches  for  themselves.  Methodism 
was  introduced  into  Meadville  by  Bishop  Eoberts,  then  a 
young  man,  who  preached  in  a  bar-room.  No  society  was, 
however,  formed,  and  years  afterwards,  when  a  society  was 
organized,  services  were  held  in  the  upper  story  of  a  black- 
smith-shop. At  the  time  when  Allegheny  College  came 
under  our  control,  the  number  of  members  was  very  small. 
A  plain  brick  church,  however,  had  been  erected,  but  it  was 
very  far  from  inviting  ;  it  was  somewhat  improved  during 
the  time  I  remained  in  Meadville,  and  quite  a  number  of 
young  persons  were  added  to  the  congregation. 

"  Meadville  was  the  seat  of  the  operations  of  the  Holland 
Company  in  that  part  of  Pennsylvania ;  the  leading  man  of 
the  company,  Mr.  Huidekoper,  a  Unitarian,  and  a  man  of 
wealth,  gathered  around  him  a  respectable  society,  which 
built  a  neat  church;  subsequently  a  Unitarian  theological 
seminary  was  established.  A  most  humorous  story  is  told 
of  the  dedication  of  this  church.  One  of  the  distinguished 
Unitarians  of  New  England  came  to  officiate  on  the  occa- 
sion, preached  an  eloquent  sermon  to  a  full  house,  setting 
forth  in  forcible  manner  the  views  of  his  people.  A  well- 
read  man  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  had  become  insane, 
and  yet  was  quiet  and  inoffensive.  He  wandered  about 
among  friends,  and  was  fond  of  talking  of  religion.  By 
some  means  he  was  present  in  the  congregation  that  day, 
and  listened  attentively  to  the  discourse.  At  its  close,  rising 
from  his  seat  and  stepping  out  into  the  aisle,  he  reached  out 
his  hand  and  said  in  a  tone  of  sadness, '  They  have  taken 
away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him,' 
and  left  the  house.  The  utterance  of  those  simple  words,  it 
is  said,  produced  a  profound  impression  on  the  congregation. 

"  In  the  spring  of  1838,  I  received  notice  of  my  election 
as  a  professor  in  the  Indiana  Asbury  University,  an  insti- 
tution then  opening  in  Greencastle,  Indiana,  with  the  inti- 
mation of  the  Rev.  Allen  Wiley,  who  wrote  to  me  that  the 


A  ROUGH  JOURNEY.  133 

probabilities  were,  that  if  I  accepted  the  professorship,  I 
would  be  in  a  year  or  so  elected  president.  As  my  health 
was  poor,  and  I  was  suffering  from  trouble  with  my  chest 
and  a  cough,  I  thought  well  of  a  change  of  climate.  But 
on  submitting  the  matter  to  my  ministerial  brethren  of  the 
Pittsburgh  Conference,  they  advised  me  not  to  go,  saying, 
had  the  presidency  been  offered  directly,  they  would  ap- 
prove of  my  accepting,  but  this  change  of  one  professor- 
ship for  another  they  thought  was  not  desirable.  Accord- 
ingly, I  declined  the  offer;  but  in  the  winter  of  1838-39,  I 
received  notice  of  my  election  to  the  presidency,  and,  sub- 
mitting the  matter  again  to  my  brethren,  they  advised  my 
acceptance,  subject  to  the  decision  of  the  bishop  who  would 
next  preside  at  the  Pittsburgh  Conference.  Receiving  the 
assent  of  my  presiding  elder  and  my  colleagues — though 
reluctantly  given — and  of  the  board  of  trustees,  I  communi- 
cated with  the  bishop,  and,  being  authorized  to  do  so,  agreed 
to  accept  the  presidency  to  begin  with  the  spring  term. 

"  I  accordingly  left  Meadville  the  latter  part  of  March,  sent 
my  goods  to  Franklin  and  down  the  Allegheny  River.  My 
goods  were  shipped  from  Pittsburgh  for  Terre  Haute,  ac- 
cording to  directions  given  me,  but,  unfortunately,  the  Wa- 
bash River  was  low  that  spring,  and  they  were  detained  at 
Vincennes  until  the  next  fall.  Taking  boat  on  the  Ohio 
River,  the  only  means  then  of  travel,  we  tarried  with  friends 
in  Cincinnati ;  then  through  Indianapolis  to  Putnam ville,  on 
the  National  Road.  The  roads  were  execrably  bad ;  much 
of  the  way  they  were  what  was  termed  '  corduroy ' — that  is, 
in  marshy  places  made  of  sticks  laid  crosswise,  over  which 
the  stage  jolted.  Sometimes  the  sticks  were  misplaced  or 
broken,  and  then  the  wheels  went  down  deep  into  the  mud  ; 
once  we  were  upset,  but  without  any  serious  harm.  Reach- 
ing Putnam,  we  secured  a  private  conveyance  six  miles  across 
to  Greencastle,  where  we  arrived  on  Saturday  afternoon  in 
the  latter  part  of  April,  1839. 

"  During  my  college  life  in  Meadville,  which  Avas  about 


134  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

two  years,  there  were  general  quiet  and  good  discipline. 
On  one  occasion  there  was  a  difference  between  the  Faculty 
and  the  young  men,  and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  though 
the  majority  of  the  students  would  revolt ;  the  exercises 
were  deranged  for  several  days,  but  in  the  end  order  was 
restored,  and  the  authority  of  the  college  fully  vindicated. 
Of  the  students,  a  number  besides  those  already  mentioned 
have  occupied  distinguished  positions.  Dr.  Cyrus  ]Sutt  had 
graduated  before  my  connection  with  the  college,  but  was 
still  in  Meadville.  He  had  been  employed  a  few  months 
as  tutor,  and  left  shortly  after  my  arrival  to  take  charge  of 
the  preparatory  department  of  Indiana  Asbury  University ; 
he  was,  after  some  years,  professor  of  mathematics  in  that 
institution,  and  then  president  of  the  Indiana  State  Uni- 
versity at  Bloomington.  Dr.  Alexander  Martin  graduated 
at  Allegheny  College,  and  was  afterwards  president  of 
the  University  of  Western  Virginia,  and  is  now  president 
of  Indiana  Asbury  University.  Dr.  John  Wheeler  was  a 
student  at  Allegheny,  and  was  subsequently  president  of 
Baldwin  University  at  Berea,  Ohio,  and  afterwards  presi- 
dent of  the  Iowa  Wesleyan  University,  at  Mount  Pleasant, 
Iowa. 

"  A  large  number  of  active  ministers,  attorneys,  physicians, 
and  teachers,  alumni  of  the  college,  are  scattered  over  West- 
ern New  York  and  Pennsylvania  and  throughout  Eastern 
Ohio.  Professor  Hamnett,  who  has  long  been  in  the  faculty 
of  the  college,  was  a  student  whom  I  had  induced  to  attend 
while  I  was  pastor  in  Pittsburgh.  Dr.  Marvin,  once  president 
of  Kansas  University,  graduated  after  I  left.  My  associations 
with  President  Clark  and  the  other  members  of  the  faculty 
were  pleasant,  and  I  presume  I  should  have  remained  with 
them  for  some  years,  had  it  not  been  that  the  severity  of 
the  climate  unfavorably  affected  my  health.  A  severe  cough, 
pain  in  the  side  and  chest,  and  other  symptoms  of  pulmonary 
disease,  led  me  and  my  friends  to  think  that  I  needed  a 
warmer  climate.     But  the  access  to  the  large  library,  and 


MUCH  AND  WIDE  BEADING.  135 

the  experience  I  had  gained  in  college  management,  were  of 
good  service  to  me." 

What  was  the  length  and  what  the  breadth  of  the  course 
of  natural  science  in  Allegheny  College  we  have  no  means 
of  knowing ;  we  do  know,  however,  that  Professor  Simpson 
met  the  requirements  of  the  position  with  complete  success. 
No  manuscript  lectures  on  natural  science  are  found  among 
his  papers;  the  presumption,  therefore,  is,  that  he  taught  by 
text-book  and  experiment,  although  this  is  not  certain.  Pro- 
fessor Joseph  Tingley  says  of  him :  "  I  spent  two  years  in 
Allegheny  College,  after  the  resignation  of  Professor  Simp- 
son, when  he  had  been  called  to  the  presidency  of  Asbury 
University.  There  I  was  shown  the  large  electrical  machine 
which  he  had  reconstructed  and  used  in  teaching.  I  was 
told  that  he  found  all  the  apparatus  in  bad  condition  and 
almost  useless,  but  had  repaired,  remodelled,  or  replaced  it 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  establish  his  reputation  as  a  remark- 
ably ingenious  and  practical  scientist.  His  name  even  then 
was  held  in  reverence,  and  it  was  felt  that  in  parting  with 
him  the  college  had  suffered  a  great  loss."  The  Kev.  George 
W.  Clark,  one  of  the  senior  members  of  the  Allegheny  fac- 
ulty of  that  day,  says  of  him :  "  His  years  in  the  professor- 
ship here  advanced  him  more  than  any  of  the  students." 
This  is  most  likely  the  exact  truth.  I  find  in  his  common- 
place books  of  this  period  copious  notes  on  Origen,  taken  from 
the  reply  to  Celsus,  and  the  treatise  "  De  Principiis,"  on  Sale's 
Koran,  "  American  Antiquities ;"  notes  also  on  chemistry 
and  mineralogy,  showing  considerable  reading  of  the  older 
authorities;  lists  of  experiments,  instruments,  etc.  I  find 
also  careful  abstracts  of  Calvin's  "  Institutes,"  with  citations 
from  his  commentaries  and  sermons,  as  well  as  readings  from 
Jonathan  Edwards  and  Lyman  Beecher.  The  references 
are  to  old  editions  of  old  authors,  such  as  would  not  have 
been,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  accessible  to  him.  The 
truth  is  that  in  the  library  of  Allegheny  College  he  had  a 
rich  storehouse  to  draw  from  such  as  he  had,  in  all  proba- 


136  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

bility,  never  seen  before.  To  the  valuable  collection  of  Dr. 
Bentley,  to  which  the  college  had  fallen  heir,  had  been 
added,  also  by  bequest,  that  of  the  Hon.  James  Winthrop,  of 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  By  the  industry  of  President  Al- 
den,  eight  thousand  volumes — many  of  them  rare — had  been 
gathered  together  and  placed  upon  the  shelves  of  the  college 
library ;  so  that  the  county  historian  sa}^s  of  it,  with  evident 
pride :  "  It  was  mentioned  by  ex-presidents  Thomas  Jefferson 
and  James  Madison  as  a  most  valuable  collection  of  books." 
Here  were  "  green  pastures  "  and  "  still  waters  "  for  the 
hungry  and  thirsty  professor  of  natural  science.  He  gave 
"  attention  to  reading,"  read  in  many  directions,  and,  as  we 
may  infer  from  the  carefulness  of  his  notes,  digested  his 
reading.  Had  he  enjoyed  these  opportunities  for  a  series 
of  years,  he  would  have  become,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
term,  a  learned  man;  for  his  mind  was  exact  in  its  habits, 
and  its  apprehension  of  subjects  clear  as  sunlight.  Yet  the 
commonplace  books  he  has  left  do  not  show  him  as  one 
who  had  made  study  the  business  of  his  life.  They  are 
wanting  in  method,  and  are  not  arranged  in  such  a  way  as 
to  be  readily  available  for  use.  Blank-books  are  taken  up, 
notes  on  one  or  more  subjects  or  authors  are  jotted  down 
in  them,  and  then  they  are  thrown  aside.  And  so  it  hap- 
pens that  there  are  a  good  many  beginnings  which  are  not 
carried  forward  to  completeness.  All  the  facts  show  an 
eager  mind,  which  only  needs  leisure  for  the  attainment  of 
the  highest  scholarship.  But  there  were  other  instincts,  each 
craving  for  adequate  expression.  He  was  a  born  orator, 
and  his  oratorical  power  was  developing  with  unusual  swift- 
ness. The  pleasurable  exercise  of  this  power  was  accom- 
panied by  the  joy  of  its  use  for  the  highest  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  men.  He  was  equally  a  born  administrator,  and 
the  circumstances  of  his  position  were  constraining  him  to 
be,  in  a  large  degree,  a  man  of  affairs.  A  Church  but  a  half- 
century  old  was  laying  foundations  everywhere  ;  and  its  two 
imperative  needs  were  leaders  with  the  gift  of  eloquent  speech 
and  capacity  to  guide  the  ever-growing  hosts  of  adherents. 


VII. 
LIFE  IN  INDIANA. 

1839-1848. 


Early  Settlement  of  Indiana.  —  Captured  from  the  British  by  General 
Clark. — Settlers  from  the  Southern  Border  States. — The  Early  Method- 
ist Preachers. — John  Strange. — The  Charter  of  Indiana  Asbury,  now 
De  Pauw.  University. — Opposition. — Devotion  of  the  Old  Preachers 
to  Education. — President  Simpson's  Arrival  at  Greencastle. — Difficulty 
of  Finding  a  Resting-place. — Only  the  Beginnings  of  a  School.- — At- 
tends the  Indiana  Conference.  —  Preaches  the  Centenary  Sermon. — 
James  V.  "Watson. — Condition  of  the  State  in  1839. 


FRENCH  SCHEMES  IN  AMERICA.  139 


VII. 

When  Matthew  Simpson  removed  to  Indiana  to  take 
charge  of  the  Asbmy  University  at  Greencastle,  the  state 
contained  not  quite  seven  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 
As  there  had  been  established  in  the  colonial  period  a  "  New 
England"  on  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America,  so  there 
had  been  established  in  the  interior  a  "  New  France."  The 
two  leading  powers  of  Europe  struggled  during  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries  for  supremacy  in  the  west- 
ern world.  Until  the  transfer  of  Canada  to  the  British  crown 
in  17G3,  Indiana  had  been  a  French  possession.  By  the 
lakes,  the  Maumee,  which  flows  into  Lake  Erie,  and  the 
Wabash,  the  French  held  communication  with  their  inland 
posts,  and,  following  the  Ohio  from  the  mouth  of  the  Wa- 
bash to  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf, 
linked  together  Montreal  and  New  Orleans.  As  early  as 
1732  Vincennes  (originally  Yinsenne)  was  an  established 
post,  with  its  outfit  of  soldiers  and  priests,  fort  and  church  ; 
for  the  broad  scheme  of  French  ambition  comprehended 
both  temporal  and  spiritual  dominion.  These  lands  were  to 
be  conquered  not  only  for  "  his  most  Christian  majesty," 
but  also  for  his  lord,  the  pope.  Jesuit  father  and  knightly 
commander  worked  together  for  a  common  end.  But  the 
fruition  of  this  scheme  was  not  to  be,  and  the  cession  of 
Canada  to  England  in  1763,  preceded  by  the  cession  of  Lou- 
isiana to  Spain  in  1762,  put  an  end  to  French  ambition  in 
North  America.  Another  and  speedy  change  impended ; 
for  although  the  colonies,  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
failed  to  conquer  Canada,  they  did  wrest  from  the  mother 
country  the  Northwest  Territory.     In  February,  1779,  Gen- 


140  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

era!  George  Rogers  Clark,  with  a  little  band  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy  soldiers,  who  had  marched  four  miles  through 
freezing  water  breast  high,  compelled  the  surrender  of  Yin- 
cennes  by  the  British  commandant.  Claris  had  the  year 
before  captured  Kaskaskia,  the  first  capital  of  Illinois,  then 
also  in  possession  of  the  British.  "  This  was,"  says  Judge 
Law,  "as  regards  its  ultimate  effects  to  the  Union,  decidedly 
the  most  brilliant  and  useful  of  any  undertakings  of  the 
Revolutionary  War.  Clark,  by  that  campaign,  added  a  ter- 
ritory embracing  now  three  of  the  finest  states  of  the  Union 
to  the  confederacy,  to  wit :  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Michigan 
— a  territory  which,  but  for  this  very  conquest,  must  now 
have  been  subject  to  British  dominion,  unless,  like  Louisi- 
ana, it  had  since  been  purchased."* 

Once  opened  for  settlement,  and  secure  from  the  blight 
of  slavery,  the  people  poured  into  the  fertile  and  attractive 
state  of  Indiana.  From  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  West  Vir- 
ginia, Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio  they  came,  and  the  Method- 
ist itinerant  came  with  them.  "Wherever  the  pioneer  settlers 
were,  there  he  was  sure  to  be.  To  Peter  Cartwright  is  tra- 
ditionally ascribed  the  honor  of  delivering  one  of  the  first, 
if  not  the  first,  Protestant  sermon  in  the  state.  The  time 
was  1804,  the  place  the  border  of  the  Ohio  River.  The  same 
sturdy  pioneer  has  also  the  distinction  of  forming  the  first 
Methodist  society  in  Indiana,  crossing  the  Ohio  River,  for 
the  purpose  from  his  own  native  Kentucky.  The  itinerants 
who  travelled  this  wilderness,  and  made  it  blossom  as  the 
rose,  were  men  who  have  left  imperishable  names.  William 
Winans,  often  called,  when  he  became,  in  after-years,  a  leader 
in  Mississippi,  "the  forest  Demosthenes,"  James  Havens, 
Russell  Bigelow,  Edwin  Ray,  and  John  Strange  were  the 
leaders  of  the  hosts  of  men  through  whose  labors  the  foun- 
dations— civil  and  religious — of  society  in  Indiana  were  laid. 

*  Address  delivered  before  the  Vincennes  Historical  and  Antiquarian 
Society,  Feb.  22, 1839. 


THE  EARLY  METHODIST  PREACHERS.  141 

It  is  difficult  for  us,  in  our  easy-going  days,  when  the 
study  of  all  the  world  is  to  have  "  a  good  time,"  to  conceive 
the  intensity  of  these  godly  men.  In  the  first  place,  they 
believed  with  all  their  souls  the  truths  which  they  preached. 
Whatever  doubts  they  had  known  they  had  conquered  by 
prayer ;  the  evidence  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  on  which 
they  staked  their  destiny,  was  Christ's  power  felt  within 
them.  Christianity  as  a  divine  and  renewing  energy  was  the 
master  thought  with  which  they  subdued  the  people.  The 
invisible  world  was  so  real  to  them  that  they  lightly  es- 
teemed the  world  to  which  they  visibly  belonged.  Life  was 
short,  and  they  looked  to  be  compensated  for  its  privations 
in  that  better  life  which,  as  they  said,  "  was  hid  with  Christ 
in  God."  Of  the  logic  of  the  schools  they  knew  little  and 
cared  less,  yet  had  a  manly  and  forcible  logic  of  their  own. 
They  were  aware  that  there  was  culture,  and  that  there 
wxere  cultured  men  in  those  communities  which  had  en- 
dured for  ages,  but  they  valued  as  above  all  price  the  cult- 
ure which  they  drew  fresh  from  nature's  founts.  Speaking 
of  this  school  of  nature,  said  one  of  them,  in  a  strain  of  gen- 
uine eloquence :  "  Her  Academic  groves  are  the  boundless 
forests  and  prairies  of  these  Western  wilds  ;  her  Pierian 
springs  are  the  gushing  fountains  from  rocks  and  mountain 
fastnesses ;  her  Arcadian  groves  and  Orphic  songs  are  the 
wild  woods,  and  the  birds  of  every  color  and  every  note,  re- 
lieved now  and  then  by  the  bass  hootings  of  the  night-owl 
and  the  weird  treble  of  the  whippoorwill ;  her  curriculum 
is  the  philosophy  of  nature  and  the  mysteries  of  redemp- 
tion ;  her  library  is  the  Word  of  God ;  the  Discipline  and 
Hymn-book,  supplemented  by  trees  and  brooks  and  stones, 
all  of  which  are  full  of  wisdom  and  sermons  and  speeches ; 
and  her  parchments  of  literary  honors  are  the  horse  and 
saddle-bags."  * 

The  author  of  this  strain  of  eloquence — John  Strange — 

*  "  Early  Methodism  in  Indiana,"  by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Smith,  pp.  38,  39. 


142  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

was  a  person  of  extraordinary  character.  His  power  of 
speech  was  such  that  strong  men  would  at  times  fall  under 
his  preaching  as  if  shot,  and  his  power  of  song  so  attractive 
that  he  would  with  apparent  ease  lift  his  listeners  up  above 
the  disquiet  and  unrest  of  our  common  lot.  "Wherever  he 
went  he  sang,  sang  like  an  old  Celtic  bard,  without  accom- 
paniment of  harp  ;  sang  little  of  earth,  but  much  of  heaven. 
And  his  chief  song,  that  by  which  he  is  most  remembered, 
was  from  John  Wesley's  Pilgrim  hymn,  in  which  are  the 

lines : 

"  No  foot  of  laud  do  I  possess, 
No  cottage  in  the  wilderness, 
A  poor  wayfaring  man." 

And  for  him  it  was  literally  true  :  no  land,  no  house  had  he, 
or  would  he  have.  Friends  offered  him  the  title-deeds  of  a 
home.  "No,"  he  replied,  "I  would  rather  sing  my  song." 
And  with  mellow  voice  he  preached  and  sang  in  cabin  and 
forest,  the  people  listening,  and  melted  by  the  pathos  of  the 

strains : 

"  No  foot  of  land  do  I  possess, 
No  cottage  in  the  wilderness, 
A  poor  wayfaring  man." 

Of  James  Havens,  a  soldier  both  of  the  church  militant 
and  church  triumphant,  even  on  this  earth,  for  he  was  fear- 
less and  all-conquering,  Mr.  Beecher  gives,  in  his  "  Yale  Lect- 
ures on  Preaching,"  this  testimony :  "  I  knew  good  '  Old 
Sorrel,'*  as  we  used  to  call  him,  of  Indiana;  now  a  sound, 
well-educated,  cultivated  man,  a  man  of  great  influence  and 
power.  Put  when  he  went  on  the  circuit  in  the  White- 
water valley  he  didn't  know  enough  to  tell  the  number  of 
the  verse  of  the  text.  He  had  to  count  off  from  the  be- 
ginning '  one,  two,  three,  four,'  in  order  to  announce  '  the 
fourth  chapter  and  sixteenth  verse.'     They  take  just  such 

'  A  playful  nickname  given  to  Havens  by  the  people  of  Indiana  from 
the  color  of  his  hair. 


THE   UNIVERSITY  CHARTER.  143 

men  in  the  West  and  put  them  into  a  field  and  set  them  at 
work,  and  they  grow  all  the  time.  They  are  reading  as 
they  ride;  their  library  is  in  their  saddle-bags;  they  are 
reading  in  the  cabins.  They  unfold  slowly,  but  the  beauty 
of  it  is  that  they  are  all  the  time  bringing  what  knowledge 
they  have  to  bear  upon  their  fellow-men." 

These  were  the  men,  many  of  them  living,  among  whom 
the  lot  of  Matthew  Simpson  was  now  cast,  and  in  associa- 
tion with  whom  he  was  to  live  for  nine  years.  Out  of  their 
poverty,  and  with  the  help  of  laymen  not  much  richer  than 
themselves,  they  had  founded  a  university.  Heroic  as 
preachers,  they  were  equally  heroic  as  founders  of  schools. 
In  this  new  sphere  for  the  application  of  their  energy  they 
walked,  as  they  had  walked  in  subduing  the  wilderness,  by 
faith.  Indeed,  they  were  compelled  to  do  something  as  ed- 
ucators for  themselves.  The  state  university  at  Blooming- 
ton  had  fallen  under  the  control  of  a  single  church,  and  all 
applications  to  the  legislature  to  right  the  wrong,  and  to 
give  Methodists  a  representation  in  the  governing  board, 
had  been  repelled  with  scorn.  Even  good  men  are  war- 
ranted in  resenting  such  an  indignity ;  and  the  Methodists, 
already  the  most  numerous  religious  body  in  the  state,  re- 
solved on  securing  a  charter  for  a  university  of  their  own. 
Here,  too,  they  met  the  expression  of  a  half-concealed  con- 
tempt. An  unlucky  member  of  the  state  senate  was  heard 
to  declare  that  "there  was  not  a  Methodist  in  the  whole 
United  States  competent  to  fill  a  professor's  chair."  This 
was  remembered  when,  afterwards,  he  became  a  candidate  for 
the  governorship  of  the  state,  and  defeated.  Finally,  after 
a  conflict  with  an  opposition  which  was  felt  rather  than 
publicly  avowed,  an  ample  charter  was  secured  in  the  year 
1837. 

I  would  not  mention  these  latter  facts,  which  are  not  par- 
ticularly pleasant,  but  for  the  reason  that  they  make  a  part 
of  the  truth  of  history,  and  also  for  the  reason  that  they 
occupy  a  considerable  space  in  the  correspondence  of  Bishop 


HI  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Simpson  in  the  first  years  of  his  living  in  Indiana.  That 
the  Methodists  of  Indiana  were  stung  by  the  spirit  in  which 
their  early  efforts  to  educate  their  people  were  received  by 
the  more  wealthy  churches  is  very  clear.  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  Calvinistic  churches,  working  in  union  with 
each  other,  had  marked  the  Western  States  for  their  own. 
With  a  sagacity  which  speaks  well  for  their  large-minded- 
ness,  they  had  planted  schools  for  the  higher  learning  at  the 
most  eligible  points ;  they  had  reinforced  these  schools  with 
men  and  money  from  the  richer  East.  But  they  had  failed 
to  reckon  with  another  body,  still  struggling  with  poverty, 
yet  growing  prodigiously,  and  filled  with  lofty  aspirations 
for  all  knowledge,  as  well  as  for  all  virtue.  They  made  a 
mistake,  and  paid  the  penalty  of  their  mistake.  Let  us  be 
thankful  that  those  days  are  past ;  that  we  have  done  with 
the  bitterness  of  theological  strife ;  that  Ephraim  has  no 
more  occasion  to  vex  Judah,  nor  Judah  Ephraim. 

I  have  said  that  the  Methodist  preachers  of  Indiana  had, 
out  of  their  poverty,  begun  the  building  of  a  university,  and 
so  it  was  throughout  the  West.  I  well  remember  a  visit 
made  by  me,  in  1840,  to  Lebanon,  the  seat  of  McKendree 
College,  then  newly  formed.  Its  sole  real-estate  basis  was 
a  section  of  government  land,  purchased,  it  was  said,  for  this 
purpose,  by  the  bishop  whose  name  it  bore.  How  accurate 
this  account  was  could  not  then  be  determined  by  me,  but 
it  was  the  popular  account.  In  a  wood  near  the  village 
was  a  frame  building  without  pretensions,  the  faint  tink- 
ling sounds  of  whose  bell  could  scarce  be  heard  as  they 
sought  for  egress  into  open  space.  It  was  a  time  of  dis- 
couragement, almost  of  despair :  professors  were  unpaid, 
president  was  unpaid,  means  of  subsistence  for  those  who 
had  stood  faithfully  to  their  teaching  work  were  scarce  to 
be  had.  Still  the  work  had  gone  on,  as  appeared  from  the 
examinations,  solidly  and  well.  I  was  privileged  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  meeting  of  the  college  trustees.  The  preachers 
and  members  of  the  board  had  the  hard,  weather-beaten 


PETER    GARTWEIGUT  AS  A    COLLEGE   TRUSTEE.    145 

look  of  men  Avho  were  accustomed  to  the  exposure  inci- 
dent to  frontier  life ;  the  well-worn  clothes  of  some  of  them 
told  as  plainly  as  words  could  of  penury.  When  Cart- 
wright,  to  whom  all  looked  for  counsel,  stood  up  to  speak, 
it  was  astonishing  how  quickly  his  sanguine  spirit  reas- 
sured his  colleagues.  Unfortunately,  I  took  no  notes  of  his 
words,  but  their  purport  was :  "  Let  us  hope  on ;  we  shall 
see  better  days ;  we  are  doing  a  work  for  the  future  and 
cannot  fail."  It  has  always  seemed  to  me  a  pity  that 
Peter  Cartwright  has  been  caricatured  as  a  mere  humorist, 
when  both  his  chief  qualities  were  sterling  good  sense  and 
unflinching  courage.  On  that  day  he  appeared  at  his  best, 
brave,  buoyant,  and  capable  of  inspiring  with  his  own  un- 
conquerable temper  the  men  who  were  gathered  about 
him.  I  shall  have  no  accounts  to  give  of  the  meetings  of 
President  Simpson  with  his  board  of  trustees,  but  the  reader 
may  be  assured  that  the  same  elements  of  trial  entered  into 
them. 

We  will  now  hear  his  own  story  of  his  arrival  in  Green- 
castle,  and  of  the  unpromising  aspect  of  both  his  college 
and  his  personal  affairs  for  a  brief  time  : 

"  During  the  winter  I  received  notice  of  my  election  as 
president  of  the  institution,  and  an  earnest  letter  from  Dr. 
Elliott  urging  me  to  accept.  Taking  the  advice  of  friends 
again,  I  accepted  and  left  Meadville  in  March,  1830,  at  the 
close  of  the  winter  term  of  college.  We  went  by  stage  to 
Franklin,  and  took  boat  down  the  Allegheny  River,  staying 
for  some  time  in  Pittsburgh,  with  Mrs.  Simpson's  parents, 
who  lived  then  near  the  city.  I  shipped  our  goods  down  the 
Ohio,  to  be  carried  by  the  Wabash  River  to  Terre  Haute,  and 
we  ourselves  took  steamer  for  Cincinnati,  where  my  mother 
and  sister  then  lived,  and  thence  by  stage  and  private  convey- 
ance to  Greencastle,  the  seat  of  the  university.  We  reached 
Greencastle  on  Saturday  about  two  o'clock ;  it  was  then  a 
village  of  about  five  hundred  inhabitants ;  the  houses  were 
generally  one-story  frames,  and  small.  I  asked  to  be  driven 
10 


146  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

to  the  best  hotel,  and  was  taken  to  a  two-story  log  building, 
weather-boarded ;  but  it  was  court  week,  and  the  house  was 
full.  We  were  sent  to  the  next  best  hotel,  a  small  frame 
building  on  the  public  square.  It  boasted  a  small  bell,  but 
as  that  was  cracked,  its  tones  grated  harshly  on  the  ear,  and 
I  felt  despondent.  That  hotel  was  full  also,  but  some  of 
the  guests  were  to  leave  in  the  evening,  and  they  agreed  we 
might  stay.  They  were  scrubbing  the  floors,  and  we  were 
shown  to  the  back  porch,  where  I  was  compelled  for  a  time 
to  sit  with  my  wife  and  little  boy.  I  asked  in  vain  for  a 
room,  but  finally  learning  that  one  of  the  best  was  occupied 
by  an  attorney  from  a  neighboring  county  seat  attending 
court,  I  took  the  responsibility  of  entering  it,  and  getting  a 
place  where  my  wife  could  rest  until  his  return  from  court. 

"  When  he  came  he  was  exceedingly  polite,  and  proved  to 
be  Judge  Hester,  then  of  Bloomington,  and  afterwards  of  Cal- 
ifornia. His  kindness  I  shall  never  forget.  In  the  evening- 
Ave  were  invited  to  the  house  of  one  of  the  trustees,  Mr. 
Hardesty,  where  we  were  most  kindly  entertained  until  we 
made  other  arrangements.  Mr.  Hardesty's  daughter  was 
afterwards  married  to  D.  W.  Voorhees,  then  a  student  in 
the  institution,  since  United  States  Senator  from  Indiana. 
"We  had  difficulty,  however,  in  securing  a  boarding  place, 
and  on  the  advice  of  his  relatives  and  friends  we  took 
possession  of  a  tenement  house  belonging  to  Dr.  Cowgill,  a 
trustee  of  the  university,  who  was  absent  with  his  family 
in  Kentucky.  Before  his  return,  I  succeeded  in  renting  a 
house  for  a  few  months. 

"  A  college  campus  of  about  three  acres  had  been  pur- 
chased for  the  university,  but  was  unfenced  ;  the  foundation 
of  a  college  building  had  been  laid  and  the  walls  were  par- 
tially raised  ;  the  school  exercises  were  conducted  in  a  small 
academy  building,  a  two-story  brick,  containing  two  rooms 
below  and  one  above.  Two  teachers  were  employed  in  in- 
structing some  forty  or  fifty  boys.  The  outlook  was  not 
very  promising,  and  yet  in  a  new  country  and  in  a  state 


A  SMALL  BEGINNING. 


147 


^P»^^^Mw« 


-.«, 


THE  OLD  SCHOOL-HOUSE  FIRST  USED  BY  THE  ASBURY  UNIVERSITY. 


which  had  a  large  and  fertile  territory  and  a  growing  popu- 
lation there  was  room  for  work  and  hope.  The  university 
had  been  projected  by  the  Indiana  Conference,  which  con- 
tained a  number  of  wise  and  active  men,  because  there  was 
no  other  where  the  sons  of  Methodist  parents  could  be  prop- 
erly educated  without  detriment  to  their  faith  or  morals. 

"  The  board  of  trustees  was  composed  of  members  of  the 
Conference  and  of  citizens  of  Greencastle,  with  a  few  from 
other  places  who  had  been  selected  by  the  Conference ;  the 
preparatory  school  had  been  begun  the  year  before  I  ar- 
rived. At  the  opening  of  the  summer  session  our  number 
enrolled  amounted  to  between  seventy  and  eighty.  I  took 
possession  of  the  upper  room  of  the  academy  with  some  of 
the  higher  classes,  and  we  endeavored  to  lay  a  foundation 
for  the  future.  As  we  had  then  no  Sabbath  services  in  the 
academy  building,  I  visited,  as  far  as  I  could,  the  churches 
in  the  vicinity,  preaching  and  endeavoring  to  create  an  in- 
terest in  the  university.  I  was  most  kindly  greeted  by  the 
brethren  in  the  ministry  everywhere,  and  endeavored  to  co- 


148  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

operate  with  them  in  their  work.  An  educational  conven- 
tion was  called  to  meet  in  Indianapolis  the  summer  after 
my  arrival,  and  I  attended ;  it  was  my  first  meeting  with 
any  of  the  preachers  in  Indiana  except  a  few  in  the  vicinity 
of  Greencastle.  I  was  then  young,  very  young  for  a  college 
president,  being  only  about  twenty-eight.  I  was  somewhat 
amused  when  Dr.  Allen  Wiley,  an  aged  member  of  the  Con- 
ference, who  had  corresponded  with  me  and  urged  me  to 
come,  said  frankly,  though  rather  bluntly,  that  he  felt  rather 
disappointed  in  seeing  me,  I  looked  so  much  younger  than 
he  expected  to  find  me.  I  simply  replied  that  that  was  a 
difficulty  which  time  would  help  to  cure. 

"As  to  the  village  of  Greencastle,  it  was  then  small. 
The  houses  were  primitive,  and  the  people  largely  from 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  North  Carolina.  There  were 
three  church  edifices,  a  Baptist,  a  Presbyterian,  and  a 
Methodist,  all  of  them  very  plain.  The  Methodist  society 
was  the  most  numerous,  but  its  building  was  unfinished. 
It  had  a  single  aisle  with  movable  benches ;  the  men  and 
women  sat  apart,  the  men  on  one  side,  the  women  on  the 
other  of  the  aisle.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  the  women 
to  come  to  church  in  their  sun-bonnets,  which  they  took 
off  during  the  service.  "While  the  people  were  both  re- 
spectable and  pious,  society  was  in  almost  every  sense  in 
a  very  primitive  condition.  The  outlook  was  not  prom- 
ising, though  it  had  some  elements  of  hopefulness.  As  the 
state  was  only  thinly  settled,  it  was  believed  that  with 
its  growth  we  might  be  able  to  plant  an  institution  which 
should  ultimately  become  a  power  for  good,  and  in  this 
spirit  I  began  my  labors.  The  school  remained  confined 
to  the  academy  building  until  the  spring  of  1840,  when 
some  rooms  were  finished  in  the  new  edifice  in  which  rec- 
itations were  held.  The  college  session  closed  that  year 
in  September  ;  in  the  vacation  I  visited  Cincinnati,  and, 
returning,  attended  for  a  few  days  the  Annual  Confer- 
ence at  Lawrenceburg.     As  this  was  the  first  session  of  the 


THE  CENTENNIAL  SERMON. 


119 


THE   ACADEMY  BUILDING   USED  TILL   1S40. 


Conference  which  I  had  seen,  I  took  a  deep  interest  in  be- 
coming acquainted  with  its  members,  and  in  noticing  its 
mode  of  doing  business.  A  sermon  was  to  be  preached  on 
the  centenary  of  "Wesleyan  Methodism,  which  had  its  rise  in 
1739.  Bishop  Roberts  and  Bishop  Morris,  who  were  pres- 
ent, were  both  unable  to  deliver  such  a  sermon,  and  so  the 
invitation  came  to  me. 

"  The  services  were  held  in  the  forenoon,  Conference  hav- 
ing adjourned ;  the  sermon  was  founded  on  the  '  Vision  of 
waters,'  in  Ezekiel,  and  its  chief  part  was  a  review  of  the 
spirit  and  principles  of  Methodism.  The  effect  was  some- 
what peculiar,  and  was  marked  by  a  most  singular  incident. 
When  I  had  finished  the  introduction  to  my  subject,  a  lady 
arose  in  the  middle  aisle,  and,  waving  her  hand,  exclaimed, 
so  as  to  be  heard  by  all, '  Sun,  stand  thou  still  and  let  the 
moon  pass  by.'  I  was  surprised  and  annoyed,  and  paused 
for  a  moment.  Dr.  Goode,  who  was  in  the  pulpit,  began 
singing  a  verse  or  two,  and  while  the  congregation  joined 


150  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

in  the  singing  some  friends  led  the  lady  out  of  church.  She 
was  a  person  of  considerable  culture  and  distinction,  and 
her  husband  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  commu- 
nity ;  her  mind  had  been  for  some  time  impaired. 

"  The  ministers  spoke  very  kindly  of  the  services,  and  I 
was  at  once  taken  into  the  hearts  of  the  preachers  of  In- 
diana, who  ever  after  remained  my  warm  friends.  At  that 
time  the  Indiana  Conference  embraced  the  whole  state,  and 
also  a  part  of  Michigan ;  but  in  the  following  General  Con- 
ference a  portion  of  Michigan  was  separated  from  it. 

"  I  did  not  remain  until  the  Conference  adjourned,  but 
learned  of  a  peculiar  incident  which  occurred  at  its  close. 
During  the  session  I  had  become  acquainted  with  a  young 
preacher,  tall  and  slender,  whose  friends  lived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, lie  had  been  expecting  an  appointment  in  that 
part  of  the  country ;  when  the  appointments  were  read  for 
Indiana  he  listened  patiently  for  his  name,  but  it  did  not 
occur.  Last  of  all,  the  Michigan  appointments  were  read, 
and  his  name  was  announced  for  '  White  Pigeon.'  He  had 
never  so  much  as  heard  of  it,  and  when  Conference  closed 
he  sprang  upon  a  bench,  and  in  a  peculiarly  shrill  voice 
called  out  aloud, '  "Who  can  tell  me  where  my  pigeon  is  V 
He,  however,  found  his  '  Pigeon '  in  due  time,  and  did  grand 
work,  establishing  the  Michigan  Christian.  Advocate,  and  in 
1852  was  elected  editor  of  the  Northwestern  Christian  Advo- 
cate in  Chicago.  He  was  James  Y.  Watson,  whose  early  death 
was  lamented  throughout  the  Church.  I  returned  to  Green- 
castle  in  due  time  and  organized  the  classes  for  the  year. 

"We  had  a  small  senior  class  consisting  of  Thomas  A. 
Goodwin,  afterwards  a  member  of  the  Conference,  and  long 
a  resident  of  Indianapolis,  and  John  Wheeler ;  to  these  was 
added,  from  the  state  university  at  Bloomington,  Joseph  E. 
McDonald,  since  United  States  Senator.  Goodwin  and 
Wheeler  graduated  at  the  end  of  the  year.  McDonald  had 
not  finished  all  his  previous  studies,  but  not  desiring  to  spend 
more  than  a  year,  had  taken  the  senior  course  ;  subsequently 


A    CONFERENCE  STRATAGEM.  151 

the  university  gave  him  the  degree  of  A.M.     At  the  end 
of  the  college  term,  which  occurred  in  September,  the  new 
building  was  finished ;  indeed,  we  had  occupied  some  of  its 
rooms  during  the  summer.     At  the  commencement  an  im- 
mense throng  filled  its  chapel.     In  addition  to  the  gradu- 
ating services,  Governor  Wallace  delivered  the  charge,  and 
handed  me  the  keys,  and  I  followed  with  an  inaugural  ad- 
dress.   Several  short  impromptu  addresses  were  added.    At 
night  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  then  a  Presbyterian  minister 
settled  in  Indianapolis,  delivered  an  address  before  the  lit- 
erary society.     Conference  sat  that  year  in  Indianapolis, 
Bishop  Soule  presiding;  great  interest  in  the  college  was 
shown,  and  the  ministers  resolved  to  found  a  library.     The 
bishop  was  impatient  to  finish  the  Conference  business,  but 
our  catalogue  was  in  press  and  about  ready  for  distribution. 
As  a  leading  member  of  Conference  wished  the  distribution 
to  be  made  before  Conference  adjourned,  he  used  a  strat- 
agem to  detain  the  bishop.    The  bishop  had  been  appointed 
by  the  General  Conference  to  visit  the  Wesleyan  Confer- 
ences in  Ireland  and  England  the  next  year;  a  resolution 
was  introduced  requesting  him  during  his  visit  to  act  as  a 
friend  in  purchasing  suitable  books  for  our  library,  should 
the  money  be  raised  on  that  resolution.    Speeches  were  made 
showing  the  importance  of  this  action,  and  how  much  the 
bishop  could  do  for  the  interests  of  the  university.    He  lis- 
tened with  comparative  patience  until  the  catalogues  were 
brought  in  ;  then  the  resolution  was  adopted,  and  the  bishop 
closed  the  Conference. 

"  When  I  removed  to  Indiana,  a  railroad  extending  a  few 
miles  from  Madison  towards  Indianapolis  was  the  only  pub- 
lic improvement  of  that  period  in  the  state.  A  canal  had 
been  constructed,  for  Avhich  the  state  had  incurred  much 
debt,  but  which  was  not  a  success.  A  few  Indians  lived  on 
a  reservation  near  the  Wabash,  and  a  few  colored  people  had 
migrated  from  the  adjacent  slave  states,  but  the  people  being 
largely  of  Southern  origin,  there  was  but  little  anti-slavery 


152  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

feeling,  though  a  large  percentage  of  the  population  had  left 
the  slave  states  to  get  away  from  slavery.  There  were  very 
few  manufactures  at  that  time  attempted.  There  being  no 
outlet  by  railroad  for  provisions,  and  the  soil  being  rich, 
provisions  were  abundant  and  cheap.  The  subsequent  open- 
ino-  of  railroads  and  the  establishment  of  manufactories 
tended  to  raise  the  price  of  food.  The  state  had  a  fair  com- 
mon-school law,  but  owing  to  the  scattered  condition  of 
the  population,  and  the  lack  of  the  early  education  of  many 
parents  the  system  was  not  worked  efficiently.  There  were 
a  few  academies  in  the  larger  towns,  and  the  state  had  built 
and  endowed  the  state  university  at  Bloomington.  The 
Presbyterians,  then  divided  into  old  and  new  schools,  had 
established  a  new  college  at  Hanover,  near  Madison ;  the 
new-school  branch  had  established  a  college  at  Crawfords- 
ville  ;  the  Catholics  had  a  college  at  Yincennes,  and  the  Bap- 
tists were  about  founding  a  college  at  Franklin. 


VIII. 
THE  COLLEGE  PRESIDENT  AND  HIS   TRIALS. 


1839-1848. 


Disappointment  on  Both  Sides. — The  Bare  Beginnings  of  a  University. — 
President  Simpson  Enlists  the  Aid  of  the  Methodist  Preachers. — En- 
couragement Given  to  Plain  but  Promising  Boys. —  Cynthiana  Cir- 
cuit.— A  Stirring  Appeal. — -The  First  Faculty. —  Descriptions  of  the 
President  by  Former  Students. — Colonel  John  Ray's  Account.—"  He 
is  My  President."  —  Dr.  Simpson's  Versatility.  —  His  Methods  in  the 
Lecture- Room.  —  Ex-Governor  Porter's  Narrative.  —  Dr.  T.  A.  Good- 
win's Story  of  his  Journey  to  Greencastle.  —  Rough  Riding  with 
Two  on  One  Horse. — "  Not  Much  of  a  University,  I  Reckon." — The 
President's  Rules  for  the  Direction  of  His  Own  Life. — The  Inaugura- 
tion.—  Governor  Wallace's  Address  of  Welcome.  —  The  President's 
Address.  —  The  Charge  of  Sectarianism  Answered.  —  The  University 
and  State  Politics. — Incessant  Labors. — The  Heroisms  of  Methodist 
Education. 


A  MOMENTARY  DISAPPOINTMENT.  155 


VIII. 

The  reception  of  Matthew  Simpson  in  Greencastle  was 
decidedly  chilling ;  indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  there  was, 
for  a  time,  a  feeling  of  discontent  on  both  sides.  To  begin 
with,  the  appearance  of  the  new  president  was  wholly 
disappointing.  He  was  a  younger  man  than  the  friends 
of  the  university  had  expected  to  find  him,  being  barely 
twenty-seven.  A  leading  trustee  said  that  he  had  supposed 
he  would  see  in  the  new  president  a  man,  but  found  only  a 
stripling.  Tradition,  which  delights  to  exaggerate  personal 
peculiarities,  declares  that  in  his  outward  bearing  he  was, 
at  this  time  of  his  life,  altogether  unprepossessing ;  with 
a  stooping  gait,  and  awkward,  almost  bashful  manners. 
The  president,  on  the  other  side,  must  have  been  sick 
at  heart  to  find  that  he  could,  with  difficulty,  secure  a 
resting-place  for  his  feet,  or  a  shelter  for  his  head. 
Among  the  people  of  the  village  there  was  a  general 
shaking  of  heads,  accompanied  Avith  the  ominous  forebod- 
ing, "He  won't  do!1'  "He  won't  do!"  Sunday  came; 
the  villagers  flocked  to  the  church  to  hear  the  stranger 
preach.  Of  what  was  the  theme,  and  what  its  treatment, 
there  is  no  report.  In  the  pulpit  he  was  on  his  throne,  and 
he  laid  on  his  hearers  the  spell  of  his  eloquence.  They  were 
charmed,  melted,  conquered.  And  as  they  separated,  after 
the  close  of  service,  the  changing  opinion  expressed  itself 
on  the  vital  question.  "  He  will  do  !"  "  He  will  do !"  was 
whispered  or  murmured  by  every  Methodist  of  the  outgoing 
crowd  to  his  neighbor ;  and  the  place  he  won  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people  of  Indiana  that  day  was  never  lost. 

It  makes  one  smile  when  one  pauses  to  consider  what  a 


156  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

contradiction  it  was  of  the  fact,  to  read  that  a  school  so  ele- 
mentary was  called  a  university.  But  the  title  drew  upon 
the  future,  and  expressed  the  hopes  and  ambitions  of  the 
founders  rather  than  their  achievement.  They  outlined 
boldly,  and,  in  this  country  at  least,  the  man  of  large  con- 
ceptions, if  he  have  a  good  cause  and  common-sense,  usually 
proves  to  be  right.  Yet  the  facts  of  the  condition  of  the 
school  were  discouraging  enough.  Of  endowment  there 
was  not  so  much  as  a  beginning ;  the  means  for  the  pay- 
ment of  teachers  had  to  be  derived  from  tuition  fees — of 
necessity,  small — the  sale  of  scholarships  (and  these  sold 
at  low  rates),  and  collections  from  the  churches.  Money  was 
scarce  ;  the  financial  disasters  of  1837,  which  almost  wrecked 
the  business  of  the  country,  were  still  felt  in  1839.  The  uni- 
versity paid  its  professors  in  its  own  scrip,  and  the  scrip  was 
turned  into  money  on  the  best  terms  that  could  be  made. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs  President  Simpson  judged 
that  the  vital  matter  for  him  was  to  secure  the  university  a 
warm  place  in  the  affections  of  the  Methodist  preachers  of 
Indiana,  and  through  the  preachers  to  reach  the  churches. 
To  this  end  he  associated  himself  with  them  as  closely  as 
he  could  consistently  with  a  right  performance  of  his  col- 
lege duties.  His  Sundays  were  given  to  preaching  through- 
out the  state  ;  long  tours  were  taken  on  horseback,  with  a 
preaching  appointment  for  nearly  every  day ;  at  the  great 
gatherings,  the  camp -meetings,  he  was  always  a  conspic- 
uous figure.  In  these  tours  he  rapidly  developed  his  ex- 
traordinary preaching  power ;  his  name  became  a  household 
word  in  all  the  state,  and  his  eloquence  was  so  prized  that 
he  was  called  for  from  all  quarters.  The  effect  of  his  exer- 
tions was  that  a  genuine  enthusiasm  for  the  university  was 
created  among  plain  people.  Promising  boys,  who  had 
known  nothing  all  their  lives  but  farm  labor  and  the  little 
knowledge  which  the  common  schools  could  give,  were 
drawn  from  their  secluded  homes  and  set  upon  careers  of 
usefulness  and  honor.     But  the  struggle  for  life  was  very 


CYNTHIANA  A  LIBERAL   CIRCUIT.  157 

real  and  very  serious.  Professor  Larrabee  writes  in  1844  to 
President  Simpson,  during  one  of  the  absences  of  the  latter 
from  Greencastle : 

"  Owen ,  the  university's  agent,  has  been  here.     He  arrived  after 

dark  one  Saturday  night,  and  left  at  three  o'clock  the  next  morning.  He 
brought  scarcely  any  money.  They  scraped  together  enough  to  pay  the 
bank  instalment,  but  had  nothing  left  for  us.  He  has  obtained  subscrip- 
tions for  the  endowment  of  your  chair  amounting  to  $1010  in  notes  and 
$400  in  produce.  The  $1010  was  collected  from  the  24th  of  February 
to  the  9th  of  March,  on  Evansville  andCynthiana  circuits,  but  he  did  not 
get  over  all  parts  even  of  these.  The  conclusion  to  which  he  has  come 
is,  that  he  can  raise  $1.50  to  every  member  on  the  poorest  circuit  in  the 
state.  The  junior  preacher  in  Cynthiana  circuit  received  only  $7.50  at 
the  last  quarterly  meeting.  The  circuit  members  are  more  willing  to 
subscribe  for  the  university  than  for  paying  their  preachers  or  building 
parsonages." 

We  of  our  time  may  be  disposed  to  pity  that  junior 
preacher  of  Cynthiana  Circuit,  but  his  was  the  common  lot 
of  the  junior  preachers  of  the  day.  Besides,  had  he  not  the 
privilege  of  preaching  the  everlasting  gospel  ?  Had  he  not, 
too,  a  home  in  every  Methodist  house  within  the  boundaries 
of  his  circuit  %  And  were  not  the  motherly  dames  who  at- 
tended his  ministrations  knitting  for  him  woollen  socks  and 
mittens  by  the  dozen,  to  keep  fingers  and  toes  warm  in  the 
rough  winter  weather  ?  What  need  of  money  for  him  ?  But 
a  circuit  subscribing  more  for  a  university — partly  in  Green- 
castle, but  mostly  in  cloudland — than  for  its  own  wants,  pre- 
sents a  spectacle  worth  dwelling  upon.  We  suspect,  too, 
that  the  like  was  true  of  other  circuits ;  all  such  cases  go 
to  show  the  force  of  the  feeling  aroused  in  the  Method- 
ists of  the  state  by  the  whirlwind  of  President  Simpson's 
eloquence. 

There  is  among  the  papers  of  Bishop  Simpson  a  draft  of 
an  address  to  the  Methodist  preachers  of  the  state,  which 
tells  clearly  the  story  of  the  difficulties  environing  him 
and  the  school  placed  under  his  charge.  In  it  he  appeals 
for  money  wherewith  to  procure  a  library  and  philosophical 


158  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

apparatus ;  for  both  these  the  necessary  Conference  resolu- 
tions had  been  obtained.  We  quote  some  passages  which 
let  in  light  upon  the  situation : 

"  At  least  from  five  to  eight  thousand  dollars  will  be  necessary  for 
philosophical  apparatus,  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  for  a  li- 
brary. Brethren,  furnish  these  to  the  institution,  and  its  course  must  be 
onward  and  upward. 

"  You  owe  it  to  the  Church  of  which  you  are  members  to  do  this. 
You  know  that  as  a  community  we  have  patiently  borne  more  than 
ordinary  reproach.  In  our  commencement  the  pulpit,  press,  and  mob 
were  all  against  us.  But  arguments  held  in  check  the  denunciations  of 
the  one,  and  Christian  meekness  calmed  the  violence  of  the  other.  But 
when  more  direct  attacks  ceased,  then  the  indirect  commenced.  The 
united  voices  of  the  literary  class  were  against  us.  We  had  no  college, 
and,  though  we  increased  in  numbers,  we  were  allowed  no  representation 
in  the  management  of  those  institutions  in  which,  as  a  part  of  the  people, 
v.e  had  equal  interest.  If  our  sons  were  sent  to  college  the  religion  of 
their  fathers  was  made  a  subject  of  derision,  and  many  were  drawn  into 
the  bosom  of  other  churches,  or  ruined  with  the  licentiousness  of  infi- 
delity. "We  were  branded  as  ignorant,  as  fanatics,  as  enthusiasts.  What 
should  we  do  ?  Just  what  you  have  done;  quietly  leave  others  in  pos- 
session of  the  public  funds,  patiently  be  refused  any  representation  in 
the  Faculty  of  state  institutions,  and  in  answer  to  the  charge  of  igno- 
rance, incapacity,  etc.,  found  institutions  that  should  shun  comparison 
with  none  around  them.  This,  brethren,  has  been  your  course,  and  as  a 
church  we  are  prospering  greatly,  but  we  must  not  stop  until  we  possess 
every  advantage  essential  to  prosperity. 

"You  owe  it  to  yourselves.  You  have  begun  in  this  enterprise;  your 
character  is  staked  upon  it.  Friends  are  wishing  you  success,  and  ene- 
mies are  hoping  for  your  failure.  Predictions  were  made  some  time 
since  that  the  institution  would  never  go  into  successful  operation,  but 
now  that  more  students  are  found  in  its  halls  than  in  those  of  any  other 
college  in  the  state,  the  predictions  are  now  that  it  will  not  be  perma- 
nent. It  has  been  stigmatized  as  the  ''Poor  Man's  College"  by  those 
who  desire  to  claim  for  themselves  all  the  wealth  and  honor  of  the  commu- 
nity. By  others  it  is  denounced  publicly  as  "  sectarian."  Yes,  there  be 
some  that  even  in  this  matter  appear  to  glory  in  their  shame.  They  have 
denounced  you  as  ignorant,  monopolized  the  public  funds  among  them- 
selves, pronounced  you  as  unable  to  manage  the  institution,  and  when, 
in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  you  have  resigned  your  money  into  their  hands 
rather  than  engage  in  angry  contention,  and  turned  aside  to  found  one 


A  FEEBLE  BEGINNING.  159 

of  your  own  where  you  were  willing  to  send  your  sons,  then  the  cry 
has  been  raised — "  You  are  sectarian."  Yes,  brethren,  you  are  sectarian 
for  daring  to  educate  your  own  children  according  to  the  dictates  of 
your  judgments.  Ah,  brethren,  I  have  misjudged  both  your  intelligence 
and  piety  if  such  a  course  will  have  any  other  effect  than  to  awaken 
pity  for  your  enemies,  and  to  show  them  by  your  acts  that  you  are 
both  able  and  willing  to  rally  unitedly  around  your  own  university.  If 
you  do  this,  the  venom  of  our  adversaries  shall  be  their  own  poison, 
and  posterity  will  applaud  both  your  Christian  meekness  and  your 
liberality." 

It  is  plain  that  the  relations  between  the  State  University 
at  Bloomington  and  the  Methodists  of  Indiana  were  not,  in 
this  period,  at  all  comfortable.  This  subject  occupies,  for 
several  years,  a  large  part  of  the  correspondence  of  Presi- 
dent Simpson  and  his  friends.  The  letters  speak  of  cov- 
ert and  open  attacks  of  enemies  of  Methodism  in  such  terms 
as  to  show  that  the  antagonism  was  felt  to  be  very  real. 
More  than  this  need  not  be  said ;  this  much  needed  to  be 
said  to  show  the  feeling  with  which  the  president  wrought 
at  his  tasks  from  1839  to  1848.  The  first  distribution 
of  duty  among  the  members  of  the  faculty  was  wholly 
provisional.  All  the  professors  were  ministers :  Matthew 
Simpson  is  professor  of  mathematics  and  natural  science, 
Cyrus  Nutt,  professor  of  Latin  and  Greek,  and  John  B. 
"Weakley  is  principal  of  the  preparatory  department ;  the 
total  number  of  students  is  eleven.  In  1810  there  are 
twenty-two  regular  and  forty-three  irregular  students,  fifty- 
eight  in  the  preparatory  school,  and  the  large  college  build- 
ing is  announced  as  finished.  As  it  is  not  the  purpose  of 
this  book  to  follow  the  history  of  the  university,  it  will  suf- 
fice to  say  that  from  these  feeble  beginnings  it  has  grown 
to  an  attendance  of  nearly  nine  hundred  students,  a  faculty 
of  forty-three  members,  and  an  endowment  of  nearly  a  mill- 
ion and  a  half  of  dollars  from  the  estate  of  "Washington  C. 
De  Pauw,  in  addition  to  the  endowment  previously  accumu- 
lated, with  schools  of  liberal  arts,  law,  theology,  music,  and 
art.     The  confidence  of   President   Simpson  that  through 


ICO  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

the  Methodist  preachers  enthusiasm  for  culture  might  be 
made  a  passion  of  the  every-day  people  of  the  state  has  been 
justified  by  the  event.  De  Pauw  University — to  give  the 
new  name — is  one  of  the  best  evidences  the  country  can 
furnish  of  the  thoughtful  liberality  of  a  homely  but  self- 
respecting  democracy. 

The  university  students  of  the  Simpson  period  speak  of 
their  president  with  unbounded  enthusiasm.  Their  terms 
of  eulogy  seem  to  the  cool  and  unbiassed  hearer  excessive, 
but  all  concur  in  the  testimony  given.  Those  who  have 
risen  to  the  highest  positions  of  honor,  as  they  look  back 
upon  their  college  days  with  the  eyes  of  men  thoroughly 
versed  in  the  world,  abate  nothing  of  their  early  admiration 
of  Dr.  Simpson.  The  qualities  on  which  they  dwell  are  his 
unfailing  tact,  great  versatility,  and  absolute  devotion  to  the 
young  men  placed  under  his  care.  It  will  best  show  this 
part  of  the  bishop's  life  to  hear  from  some  of  them.  We 
will  take  first  Colonel  John  Bay,  now  of  Indianapolis,  a  son 
of  one  of  the  pioneer  preachers  of  Indiana : 

"The  first  year  the  institution  was  manned  by  Professor  Cyrus  TV. 
Nutt,  who  constituted  the  entire  faculty,  and  did  not  get  money  enough 
for  that  year's  service  to  pay  his  postage.  Two  years  passed  before  Dr. 
Simpson  took  charge  as  president.  There  was  no  endowment  fund  nor 
money  in  the  treasury ;  in  fine,  not  a  very  encouraging  outlook.  All  the 
faculty,  save  Tutor  Wheeler,  however,  were  Methodist  preachers,  and 
therefore  the  work  must  be  wrought,  sacrifices  endured,  faith  must  end 
in  fruition. 

"  Dr.  Simpson  early  grasped  the  situation.  lie  knew  that  if  Methodist 
hearts  were  warmed,  Methodist  wills  set  in  action,  the  university  would 
prove  equal  to  the  plans  of  its  projectors.  Therefore  he  spent  the  great- 
er part  of  the  Sabbaths  in  the  pulpits  of  the  state.  Indiana  then  had  no 
railroads,  save  as  rails  were  taken  off  the  fences  and  laid  crosswise  to 
prevent  the  miring  of  horses  aud  wagons.  The  trusty  horse,  saddle,  and 
saddle-bags  were  the  travelling  conveniences  of  the  Methodist  preachers, 
and  a  swimming  horse  was  both  bridge  and  ferry  over  the  creeks  and 
rivers.  Many  of  the  roads  wrere  indicated  only  by  the  felling  of  trees 
along  the  line.  From  town  to  town  Dr.  Simpson  went,  conquering  op- 
position to  higher  education,  overcoming  the  many  objections  which 


A  BOY  WON  BY  A  SERMON.  161 

were  raised,  and  everywhere  stimulating  Methodists  to  put  forth  their 
noblest  efforts  in  behalf  of  Asbury. 

"The  writer  first  saw  Dr.  Simpson  when  thus  engaged.  He  was  to 
preach  in  our  village.  One  student  had  ventured,  and  several  were 
thinking  of  entering  the  university.  Of  course  all  the  boys  whose  heads 
had  been  turned  towards  Asbury  went  to  hear  him  preach.  Mother's 
rule  required,  when  she  did  not  go  to  church,  that  two  hymns  and  the 
text  must  be  reported,  as  evidence  of  attendance.  Until  the  day  Dr. 
Simpson  preached,  hymns  and  text  were  about  all  of  the  service  appro- 
priated. When  he  went  into  the  pulpit,  clothed  in  a  blue  cassinette 
suit,*  with  his  low  brow,  stoop  shoulders,  and  ungainly  appearance,  boy- 
ish disappointment  filled  my  mind,  and  the  thought  was,  'Not  much  of  a 
president.' 

"  He  took  the  hymn-book ;  a  bright  gleam  shot  over  his  face,  his  voice 
was  so  musical  that  melody  was  not  needed,  and  then,  as  he  lined  the 
verses,  inspiration  seemed  to  fall  on  the  people.  Never  had  such  reading 
charmed  my  ear.  And  then  the  prayer.  So  importunate,  so  full  of  lov- 
ing trust,  so  like  a  child  pleading  with  the  Father;  surely  this  man  is 
talking  face  to  fiice  with  God.  By  the  time  the  prayer  closed  all  disap- 
pointment vanished.  The  Scripture  was  read  in  that  same  sweet,  flute- 
like  tone;  again  the  hymn,  and  then  the  sermon — such  a  sermon  as 
Matthew  Simpson  only  could  preach.  Enraptured,  completely  satisfied, 
flying  steps  took  me  to  my  mother,  who  could  not  go  to  church  that  day, 
and  the  greeting  was, '  Mother,  I  tell  you  he  is  my  president.1 

"  All  over  Indiana  he  went,  like  a  hero,  winning,  with  their  parents' 
sympathy,  scores  of  boys,  who  in  like  manner,  though  compelled  to  sacri- 
fice and  economy,  entered  themselves  as  students. 

"He  was  not  only  the  preacher  who  went  through  the  slate  arousing 
hearts  to  new  ambitions,  but  when  the  boys  reached  Greencastle  he  was 
their  best  friend.  Easy  of  approach,  with  an  ear  ever  ready  to  listen, 
wise  in  counsel,  willing  to  aid  in  every  wray  possible,  lie  endeared  the 
students,  who  appreciated  their  opportunity,  to  him.  Of  course  his  rule 
was  firm  ;  but  his  hand  of  steel  was  always  cased  in  velvet.  Though 
comparatively  a  young  man,  the  boys  soon  dubbed  him  '  Old  Doc'  lie 
measured  the  young  men  critically.  They  were  all  known  to  him  by 
name.  Carefully  did  he  look  after  them  from  the  hour  of  entering  the 
university,  and  long  after  he  became  bishop  would  he  recall  the  names 
of  the  old  students  and  manifest  intense  anxiety  concerning  them.     He 

*  When  President  Simpson  came  to  Indiana,  he  was  clad  in  the  cleri- 
cal black ;  but  before  long  he  dressed  in  the  home-made  blue-gray  cloth 
much  used  throughout  the  state. 
11 


IQ2  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

was  a  rigid  disciplinarian.     Laws  were  to  be  obeyed,  and  we  all  under- 
stood that  so  well  that  discipline  was  but  seldom  required. 

"  He  knew  just  how  to  treat  each  so  that  lasting  impressions  would  be 
made.  Even  in  rebukes  he  was  kind.  An  incident  will  illustrate.  A 
student,  of  a  leading  family,  unfortunately  loved  his  cups.  There  were 
no  crossings  between  the  few  sidewalks  in  the  village,  and  one  dark 
night,  with  the  mud  several  inches  deep,  this  student  wanted  to  cross 
the  street  to  reach  his  room.  Just  then  Dr.  Simpson  came  along  and 
was  gruffly  accosted,  '  Buck  up  here  and  carry  me  across  this  street.' 
The  request  was  complied  with,  and  when  the  other  pavement  was 
reached  the  doctor  said,  calling  him  by  name, '  I  think  you  have  ridden 
far  enough.'  That  voice  was  recognized  instantly,  and  the  young  man 
reached  his  room,  hearing  nothing  further  from  his  president.  The  oc- 
currence would  not  have  been  known  had  it  been  left  to  the  president 
to  tell  it.  The  student  told  it  himself,  and  he  never  again  tampered 
with  liquor  while  in  the  university. 

"  He  was  a  most  excellent  judge  of  human  nature.  In  an  adjoining 
county  a  family  lived,  poor  in  this  world,  but  rich  in  brain,  grace,  and 
industry.  Their  son,  a  boy  whose  pocket-money  was  the  result  of  his 
o-atherings  of  nuts  and  wild  fruits,  heard  of  the  university,  and  tying  up 
a  change  of  homespun  clothing,  started  to  obtain  an  education.  Board 
in  Greencastle  ranged  from  fifty  cents  to  one  dollar  and  a  half  a  week. 
But  so  slender  was  the  chance  for  this  boy  to  pay,  that  he  could  not  get 
board.  So,  true  to  his  manhood,  he  went  to  Dr.  Simpson's  room  and 
asked  'if  he  was  the  man  who  kept  school  there?'  Being  answered,  he 
said  '  he  had  come  to  get  an  education,  but  he  failed  to  find  a  boarding- 
place,  and  if  he  could  have  the  use  of  an  empty  room  in  the  building  he 
would  make  fires  and  sweep  rooms  for  pay,  and  try  to  get  his  board 
some  way.'  Of  course  he  was  accommodated.  When  he  graduated,  his 
best  dress  while  receiving  the  highest  honors  of  his  class  was  a  calico 
morning-gown.  "Within  sixty  days  of  the  commencement  a  committee 
visited  Dr.  Simpson,  looking  for  a  president  for  a  Western  college,  and 
were  told  the  man  was  then  within  thirty  miles  of  Greencastle.  They 
had  started  for  the  east  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  were  surprised  to  hear 
Dr.  Simpson  so  speak.  But  they  sent  for  the  Indiana  boy,  and  took  him 
home  as  their  college  president.  The  legislature  the  same  year  made 
him  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  and  since  then  he  has  served 
the  state  of  his  adoption  as  United  States  senator,  and  has  also  been  a 
cabinet  officer.  When  a  student,  Dr.  Simpson  had  measured  him,  and 
therefore  could  sincerely  commend  him  as  suited  for  the  presidency  of  a 
college. 

"  He  loved  to  help  the  ambitious.     At  the  opening  of  the  second  term 


COLONEL  JOHN  BAT'S  COLLEGE  EXPERIENCE.     163 

of  a  student  who  was  freshman  in  Latin  and  mathematics,  but  prepara- 
tory in  Greek,  Dr.  Simpson  was  surprised  to  see  him  present  himself  for 
admission  to  the  freshman  Greek,  just  one  year  in  advance  of  the  class 
he  should  be  in.  'Why  are  you  here?'  was  the  query;  the  answer,  'I 
want  to  go  into  this  class.'  A  shake  of  the  head  and  another  query, 
'Where  were  you  last  year?'  'In  the  preparatory.'  'But  you  cannot 
maintain  yourself  in  this  class.'  'Try  me.'  At  once  the  cloud  went  off 
from  Dr.  Simpson's  face,  and  smiling  he  turned  to  Prof.  Tefft,  who  had 
charge  of  Greek,  and  said, '  Professor,  what  do  you  say  V  Tefft  questioned 
the  lad,  and  finally  said, '  Dr.  Simpson,  I'll  vouch  for  the  boy.'  He  went 
in  the  class,  and  Dr.  Simpson  helped  him  from  that  day  on  to  graduation. 

"  Thoroughness  in  study  was  required  of  every  one  who  sat  in  the 
classes  taught  by  Dr.  Simpson.  He  said  to  one  of  the  boys,  'There  are 
three  things  that  make  history  a  difficult  study — •  names,  dates,  and 
events.'  Being  answered  '  if  he  would  excuse  the  names  and  dates,  he 
should  have  the  events,'  at  once  he  pointed  out  the  need  of  thorough 
mastery  of  every  study.  His  teaching  was  eminently  practical.  Theories 
that  did  not  work  well  in  practice  found  no  favor  with  him.  In  teach- 
ing mental  and  moral  science  he  was  constantly  illustrating  the  text 
from  occurrences  of  every -day  life.  He  taught  us  the  advantage  of 
woman  suffrage,  as  opening  wider  fields  of  usefulness  for  women,  em- 
ploying all  their  faculties;  and  demonstrated  that  neighborhood  gossip 
and  scandals  were  largely  the  result  of  unoccupied  heads  and  tongues. 
He  was  at  his  best  when,  the  regular  recitation  past  and  the  hour  not  yet 
spent,  he  would  engage  with  his  classes  in  conversation.  With  a  mind 
filled  with  knowledge,  varied  as  the  walks  of  life  itself,  he  sought  to  turn 
our  thoughts  to  the  duties  of  the  future  which  we  were  fitting  ourselves 
for.  Our  talks  were  as  free  as  though  he  were  our  comrade  instead  of 
being  our  president.  Never  once  was  there  a  trespass  on  the  proprieties 
of  the  relation  he  held  to  us,  but  his  great  loving  nature  expanded  so  that 
there  was  no  hedge  between  us. 

"In  conversation  he  was  brilliant,  magnetic.  It  mattered  not  what 
the  theme  was — abstract  science,  mathematics,  logic,  rhetoric,  languages, 
history,  politics — he  was  equally  versed  in  all,  and  his  classes  were  always 
delighted  when  he  would  lead  them  outside  the  routine  of  the  hour. 
Many  a  plan  was  arranged  to  have  part  of  the  recitation  hour  given  to 
these  delightful  talks  in  which  all  were  free  to  participate,  he  leading. 

"  He  had  great  faith  in  putting  the  students  on  their  honor.  A  rule 
forbade  a  student  going  beyond  the  limits  of  the  town  during  college 
hours,  unless  by  special  permission  of  one  of  the  faculty.  Of  course 
acquaintances  were  made  with  many  of  the  families  near  the  village,  and 
an  application  to  Dr.  Simpson  for  suspension  of  this  rule  as  to  individ- 


164  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

uals  was  always  granted,  if  the  student  would  promise  good  behavior 
while  absent  from  the  town.  By  every  means  he  sought  to  build  up  the 
manhood  of  those  who  were  placed  under  his  charge.  At  times  during 
the  temporary  absence  of  other  professors  he  taught  their  classes,  and  it 
was  a  matter  of  amazement  to  all  of  us  how  admirably  lie  taught  Greek, 
Latin,  physical  science,  equally  as  well  as  the  studies  of  his  special  chair. 

"Eminent  as  Dr.  Simpson  was  in  his  position  of  president,  teacher, 
friend,  all  his  greatness  was  magnified  when  he  sought  to  teach  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  more  zealous  to  make  Chris- 
tians out  of  the  students  than  to  impart  secular  instruction.  Never,  in 
the  three  years  the  writer  was  a  student,  did  Dr.  Simpson  lead  in  prayer 
in  the  chapel  that  he  failed  to  use  substantially  this  sentence, '  O  Lord, 
we  pray  thee  that  while  these  young  men  are  seeking  knowledge  which 
will  fit  them  for  this  life,  they  may  obtain  that  higher  knowledge  the 
beginning  of  which  is  the  fear  of  the  Lord.'  He  loved  to  meet  the  stu- 
dents in  class-meeting,  the  prayer  circle.  Rarely  did  he  let  a  chance  pass 
when  he  did  not  talk  of  religion.  He  never  spoke  in  the  chapel  about 
the  doctrines  and  polity  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  but  he  so 
thoroughly  illustrated  the  results  of  an  unwavering  devotion  to  his 
Church  that  no  words  were  needed  to  turn  large  numbers  of  the  students 
into  the  Methodist  fold.  In  the  revival  meetings  he  was  almost  always 
present.  Actively  engaged  as  he  might  be,  neglecting  no  duty  connect- 
ed with  his  chair,  his  place  in  the  revival  meetings  was  rarely  vacant. 
During  a  most  wonderful  season  in  1847,  recitations  were  practically 
suspended  for  ten  days  or  two  weeks.  Classes  met  on  bell-ringing  in 
their  respective  rooms,  and  religious  services  filled  the  hour.  During 
this  meeting  none  were  so  active  and  so  constantly  employed  as  Dr. 
Simpson.  He  seemed  like  a  father,  weeping  with  the  penitent,  and  util- 
izing the  matchless  power  of  his  eloquence  to  win  souls  for  Christ;  and 
with  such  success  that  the  entire  town  was  for  days  more  like  a  camp- 
meeting  than  anything  else.  There  were  three  public  services  daily,  and 
for  a  time  the  stores  and  places  of  business  were  closed  during  service 
hours. 

"More  than  forty  years  have  passed  since  the  writer  first  saw  Dr. 
Simpson,  heard  his  voice,  listened  to  his  expositions  of  secular  and  spirit- 
ual knowledge ;  and  while  enlarged  acquaintance  has  afforded  opportu- 
nity to  compare  others  with  him,  the  brief  sentence  of  a  college  friend 
expresses  the  thought  now  uppermost — 'He  was  the  greatest  man  I  ever 
knew.'  Of  course  boyhood's  ideas  are  of  the  superlative  degree  ;  but  the 
speech  above  quoted  was  made  since  Bishor>  Simpson's  death,  by  an 
active  business  man  past  sixty  years,  aud  is  now  repeated  by  one  who  is 
not  far  from  the  same  age.'1 


EX-GOVERNOR  PORTERS  NARRATIVE.  165 

Ex-Governor  A.  G.  Porter,  of  Indiana,  who  has  had  large 
experience  in  public  life,  speaks  in  the  same  affectionate 
terms  of  President  Simpson.  "We  draw  from  an  address 
upon  the  life  and  character  of  Bishop  Simpson,  delivered 
by  him  shortly  after  the  bishop's  death : 

"  I  remember,  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday,  the  occasion  when  I  first  saw 
him.  I  was  a  bashful  boy  of  sixteen,  who  had  come  to  enter  the  pre- 
paratory department  of  the  college,  and  I  called  at  his  bouse.  He  looked 
to  me  like  a  plain,  warm-hearted,  and  hospitable  farmer,  and  in  after-life 
he  always  looked  to  me  so.  He  greeted  me  with  overflowing  kindness  ; 
he  talked  to  me  of  the  studies  that  I  was  about  to  pursue  ;  he  called 
in  his  wife  and  introduced  me  to  her;  and  they  both  invited  me  to  visit 
them  often,  and  assured  me  I  should  always  be  gladly  received.  And 
they  meant  what  they  said;  as  they  welcomed  me,  so  they  welcomed 
other  students.  He  was  in  like  manner  social  and  kind  with  the  towns- 
people of  Greencastle.  They  have  always  been  warm-hearted  and  gener- 
ous, and  they  repaid  his  kindness  with  boundless  affection.  I  do  not 
believe  there  was  ever  a  day,  after  he  became  known  to  the  people  of 
Putnam  County,  until  he  quit  the  college,  that  he  was  not  the  most  popu- 
lar and  best-loved  man  in  the  county. 

"  He  took  a  personal  interest  in  every  student,  and  watched  over  the 
education  and  morals  of  them  all.  He  appealed  to  their  honor  and  man- 
liness when  they  were  inclined  to  go  astray.  He  seemed  always  to  know 
what  was  going  on  among  them,  and  wanted  no  spies.  On  one  occasion, 
I  remember,  after  there  had  been  some  rude  disorder  at  night  on  the 
streets,  which  he  disapproved,  he  called  attention  to  the  matter  in  chapel. 
He  expressed  mortification  at  the  occurrence,  and  uttered  strong  words 
of  reproof.  He  said  that  he  should  not  institute  investigation  to  learn 
the  names  of  the  guilty.  He  knew  the  parties.  He  had  been  with  them. 
He  had  affected  to  take  part  with  them.  He  knew  the  names  as  well  as 
the  deeds.  He  would  not  repeat  these  names.  He  would  trust  to  the 
honor  of  these  young  men  that  there  would  be  no  repetition  of  disgrace- 
ful occurrences.  The  reproof  and  appeal  were  the  most  effectual  of  pun- 
ishments. And  there  grew  up  a  feeling  afterwards  that  he  was  ubiq- 
uitous, and  that  if  doors  were  barred  to  conceal  any  forbidden  thing 
that  was  going  on,  Bishop  Simpson  was  more  likely  to  be  locked  in  than 
to  be  locked  out. 

"  He  had  a  keen  appreciation  of  whatever  was  humorous.  I  recollect 
that  at  a  time  when  the  third  story  of  the  college  was  unfinished,  stu- 
dents were  told  that  they  must  not  go  into  that  part  of  the  building,  as 


160  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

their  noise  disturbed  the  professors  who  were  conducting  recitations  be- 
low them.  One  day  a  mischievous  and  frolicksome  boy,  now  a  banker 
of  this  city,  conducted  a  number  of  his  companions  to  the  prohibited 
third  story.  Dr.  Simpson  came  upon  them,  and,  picking  up  a  lath,  ap- 
plied it  to  the  embryo  banker;  not  so  much  to  hurt  as  to  frighten  him. 
A  day  or  two  after,  this  boy  was  one  of  a  considerable  number  at  a  din- 
ner, when,  speaking  up,  he  addressed  the  doctor  with, '  Dr.  Simpson,  you 
lathed  me  the  other  day;  I'd  like  to  know  when  you  are  going  to  plas- 
ter me.'  The  bishop  became  very  red  in  the  face,  and,  unable  to  restrain 
his  mirth,  broke  into  a  hearty  laugh.  He  made  himself  familiar  with  the 
students,  and  enjoyed  them  and  was  enjoyed  by  them. 

"  He  was  a  great  teacher,  for  he  encouraged  pupils  to  think.  No  book 
was  authority.  Whatever  statement  would  not  stand  the  test  of  argu- 
ment was  to  be  condemned.  He  encouraged  students  to  challenge  every 
statement  which  their  judgment  did  not  approve  ;  and,  when  challenged, 
the  soundness  of  the  statement  was  debated  in  the  class-room.  It  was 
the  custom  in  his  day  for  ambitious  young  men  to  have  mottoes  as  an 
incentive  to  endeavor.  These  mottoes  were  written  in  their  books.  His 
was,  I  remember, "  Read  and  know.  Think  and  be  wise."  He  did  not 
read  idly  for  amusement,  but  to  store  his  mind  with  knowledge.  Nor 
was  knowledge  enough.  Thought  must  be  applied  to  it ;  it  must  be 
assimilated ;  it  must  make  wiser,  and  thus  make  the  man  more  useful. 
He  did  not  usually  read  a  book  line  for  line,  but  had  that  faculty  for 
rapid  reading  which  Macaulay  had  of  taking  in  nearly  a  page  at  a  time 
■ — like  those  mathematical  prodigies  who  can  add  up  columns  of  figures 
by  seeming  to  grasp  the  sum  of  a  whole  column  at  once  instead  of  add- 
ing up  the  figures  separately." 

The  first  graduate  of  the  university,  the  Rev.  Doctor  T.  A. 
Goodwin,  has  described  his  journey  in  1837  from  his  home 
in  Indiana  to  Greencastle,  the  seat  of  the  university,  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  ten  miles.  It  cost  the  student,  in 
those  days,  no  small  exertion  to  reach  the  place  where  he 
would  be  educated : 

"  At  last  November  came.  The  fall  term  was  to  open  on  the  first  Mon- 
day. There  was  but  one  way  to  get  to  Greencastle,  that  was  by  stage  to 
Putnamville,  and  from  that  place  to  Greencastle  as  best  I  could.  I  left 
Brookville  Wednesday  at  noon,  expecting  to  reach  Greencastle  by  Friday 
night.  The  first  seventeen  miles  were  travelled  in  a  two-horse  coach.  It 
had  been  raining  for  two  weeks.  There  were  no  turnpikes  then  in  In- 
diana.   We  were  six  hours  in  reaching  Bulltown.     From  that  to  Indian- 


DR.  GOODWIN'S  REMINISCENCES.  167 

apolis  the  coach  that  had  been  running  three  times  a  week  had  been 
taken  off  on  account  of  bad  roads,  and  a  two-horse  wagon,  without  cover 
or  springs,  had  been  substituted.  In  this,  before  daylight,  we  started, 
hoping  to  make  Indianapolis,  fifty-three  miles  distant,  before  the  stage 
west  should  leave  at  ten  that  night.  But  we  failed.  It  rained  all  day, 
and  Rush  County  roads  were  at  their  worst.  The  corduroy  was  afloat 
in  many  places,  and  the  creeks  and  rivers,  unbridged,  were  bank  full. 
Night  overtook  us  about  ten  miles  from  Indianapolis,  and  it  was  dark  as 
pitch.  About  eight  o'clock  our  wagon  broke  down  six  miles  from  In- 
dianapolis, in  the  middle  of  a  mud  hole.  We  were  half  a  mile  from  any 
house  and  without  a.  particle  of  light.  We  soon  discovered  that  the 
wagon  could  go  no  farther.  There  were  three  of  us,  the  driver,  an  agent 
of  the  stage  line,  and  myself.  The  only  baggage  was  my  trunk  and  the 
mail  j^ouch.  After  considering  the  situation,  it  was  determined  that  the 
driver  should  ride  one  horse,  without  a  saddle,  of  course,  and  carry  my 
trunk  before  him;  the  stage  agent  should  ride  the  other,  and  carry  the 
mail  pouch  before  him  and  mo  behind  him.  By  this  conveyance  I 
made  my  first  entrance  into  Indianapolis  about  eleven  o'clock,  the  first 
Thursday  night  of  November,  1837.  The  town  was  fast  asleep,  and 
hence  our  procession  down  Washington  Street,  single  file,  the  driver  in 
the  lead,  with  my  trunk  before  him,  created  no  marked  sensation,  and  no 
mention  was  made  of  it  in  the  city  papers  next  morning.  As  the  stage 
for  St.  Louis  had  been  gone  an  hour  or  more,  nothing  could  be  done  but 
to  wait  a  day." 

His  troubles  were  not  at  an  end ;  another  stage  ride  of 
like  kind  had  to  be  encountered,  and  in  four  days  the  journey 
was  accomplished.     This  is  what  he  saw  upon  his  arrival : 

"  Notwithstanding  I  had  been  informed  before  leaving  home  that  the 
necessary  buildings  were  not  yet  finished,  and  Mr.  T.  had  told  me  they 
were  not  even  begun,  and  probably  never  would  be,  I  had  not  been  able 
to  fully  realize  the  situation.  Visions  of  stately  buildings  like  those  at 
Oxford,  and  a  corps  of  learned  professors,  would  stand  before  me  ;  hence, 
after  reaching  the  town  I  had  strained  my  eyes  to  catch  a  glin^se  of 
things  that  were  not.  Gladly  dismissing  Mr.  T.  with  his  two  dollars,  I 
turned  for  comfort  to  Mr.  Lynch,  my  new  landlord,  still  unwilling  to  top- 
ple my  air  castle  and  dismiss  my  dreams.  In  answer  to  my  question 
where  the  university  was,  he  said,  '  I  don't  know  for  certain.  It  was, 
last  summer,  at  the  deestrict  schoolhouse,  but  I  have  hearn  that  they 
have  moved  it  to  the  county  siminary.  Be  you  come  to  go  to  it  ?  You 
will  not  find  it  much  of  a  university,  I  reckon.'  " 


168  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

The  following  passage  shows  the  primitive  condition  of  so- 
ciety in  the  state,  and.  as  a  rule,  the  character  of  the  homes, 
rich  in  all  Christian  graces,  from  which  the  young  men 
came : 

"  Surveying  the  field  from  this  semi-centennial  elevation,  one  who  was 
a  part  of  its  earliest  struggles  and  triumphs  would  emphasize  a  feature 
of  this  university  which  has  characterized  it  from  the  beginning.  Its 
first  students  all  came  from  homes  of  comparative  poverty,  from  that 
class  whose  daily  bread  is  dependent  on  daily  toil  and  constant  frugality. 
They  were  led  to  these  halls  in  most  cases  by  the  faithful  agents  whose 
duty  was  to  at  once  obtain  pecuniary  aid  and  create  a  hunger  and  thirst 
for  knowledge.  It  is  not  extravagant  to  say  that  of  the  first  thousand 
who  attended  this  institution  seven  hundred  would  never  have  attended 
any  schools  higher  than  the  very  poor  country  schools  of  the  period  but 
for  the  influence  of  the  college  agents,  seconded  by  the  faithful  preach- 
ers of  that  day.  To  this  must  be  added  the  wonderful  magnetism  of 
our  first  president.  Wherever  he  went  to  preach  he  awakened  an  inter- 
est in  the  university. 

Keticent  as  President  Simpson  was  in  relation  to  his  per- 
sonal feelings,  we  find  notices  here  and  there  of  the  sense 
which  he  carried  with  him  of  the  serious  responsibility  of 
his  undertaking.  He  knew  that  the  source  of  all  his  strength 
was  a  real  spiritual  life.  I  find,  under  date  of  August  1, 
1840,  this  memorandum  : 

"  1.  I  purpose,  God  being  my  helper,  to  rest  at  nine  and  rise  at  four 
invariably. 

"  2.  Always  to  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  witli  notes  or  three  without. 

"  3.  To  write  every  duty  down  which  occurs  to  my  mind. 

"  4.  To  allot  it  its  proper  time,  and  suffer  nothing  but  what  is  uncon- 
trollable to  prevent  me  from  doing  it  at  that  time. 

"  5.  Converse  no  more  on  politics,  unless  in  answer  to  a  question  pro- 
pounded. 

"  G.  Avoid  foolish  jesting,  and  try  to  turn  all  conversation  to  profit. 

-l  7.  Have  seasons  of  prayer  each  day  :  1 .  Rising.  2.  After  reading. 
3.  After  breakfast.  4.  After  morning  college.  5.  After  dinner.  6.  After 
evening  college.     7.  After  supper  or  walk.     8.  Before  retiring. 

"  8.  Resolved  to  leave  all  company  resolutely  at  half-past  eight,  and 


PIOUS  RESOLUTIONS.  \q% 

spend  fifteen  minutes  in  writing  diary  and  reading  Greek  Testament, 
and  fifteen  in  prayer  and  retiring. 

"9.  This  I  purpose  if  Christ  strengthen  so  poor  a  sinner  as  I.  Here  I 
covenant,  sign  with  my  hand,  solemnly  and  irrevocably  to  give  myself  to 
God.  But  I  must  watch  incessantly.  O  for  power  to  prevail  with  God ! 
These  rules  are  especially  designed  for  August,  1840.  May  God  in  mercy 
for  Christ's  sake  enable  a  poor  sinner  to  keep  them.  M.   Simpson. 

"P.  S. — Read  these  rules  once  every  day." 

It  is  customary,  nowadays,  to  speak  slightingly  of  such 
plans  for  methodizing  spiritual  exercises.  They  are  thought 
to  imply  a  morbid  condition  of  mind;  but  the  mind  of 
President  Simpson  was  eminently  healthy;  no  one  could 
be  more  cheery,  more  buoyant,  more  practical;  no  one 
could  enjoy  more  gratefully  the  blessings  which  life  brought 
him ;  but  he  knew  himself,  feared  for  himself,  and  fled  to 
the  strong  One  for  refuge.  Thomas  Carlyle  has  sneered 
at  the  introspective  habit  of  Methodism,  by  describing  it  as 
"  always  looking  at  its  own  navel."'  It  would  be  easy  to 
retort  upon  Thomas  Carlyle  always  looking  at  his  own 
stomach,  and  finding  in  its  miseries  the  centre  of  his  mortal 
life.  This  would  be  unjust  and  unreasonable,  but  no  more 
unjust  and  no  more  unreasonable  than  his  own  contemptu- 
ous phrase.  The  symptom-watching  style  of  Christian  life 
is  in  some  measure  passing  away ;  but  it  had  in  it  a  sober 
sense  of  human  weakness,  and  a  constant  fear  of  the  ap- 
proaches of  wrong.  It  was  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than 
a  conscious  communion  with  God  through  prayer. 

By  September,  1840,  the  university  was  sufficiently  or- 
ganized to  admit  of  an  imposing  demonstration.  The  peo- 
ple were  called  together  from  all  parts  of  the  state,  and  the 
president  delivered  his  inaugural  address.  Governor  David 
Wallace,  after  a  suitable  speech  of  welcome,  handed  over  to 
him  the  keys  of  the  newly  completed  university  building. 
His  speech  of  welcome  recognizes  the  fact  that  Indiana  had 
just  passed  the  log-cabin  stage  of  growth,  and  that  the  pio- 
neers who  had  carried  through  the  wilderness  the  message 


170  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

of  divine  truth  were,  with  their  immediate  successors,  the 
founders  of  this  rising  school  of  learning.  The  style  is 
flowery,  but  the  thought  is  good : 

"But  to  whom,  it  may  be  asked,  are  we  and  the  country  indebted  for 
this  noble  manifestation  in  behalf  of  such  a  cause  ?  Whose  minds  con- 
ceived, whose  benevolence  prompted,  whose  energies  achieved  the  erec- 
tion of  this  edifice,  and  on  a  spot,  too,  where  the  sound  of  the  woodman's 
axe,  as  he  felled  the  forest  around  him,  has  scarcely  died  away  upon  our 
ears?  Nay,  whose  imaginations  so  vivid — so  pregnant,  as  it  were,  with 
creative  power — as  to  give  birth  to  so  wild  and  novel  a  conception  as  that 
of  planting  the  garden  of  the  Muses  on  the  yet  unredeemed  bosom  of 
the  wilderness?  Be  not  surprised,  and  revere  them  none  the  less  for  it, 
when  I  tell  you  that  they  are  old  and  familiar  acquaintances — endeared 
to  us  by  some  of  the  sweetest,  purest,  and  holiest  recollections  of  the 
heart.  They  have  been  the  companions  of  our  pioneer  fathers;  they 
have  been  our  moral  and  religious  instructors.  Spurning  the  luxuries 
of  life — the  refinements  of  taste  and  elegance,  the  comforts  of  ease  and 
affluence,  the  allurements  of  the  world — with  the  spirit  of  a  "Wesley  only 
to  nerve  them  they  laughed  the  dangers  of  flood  and  field  to  scorn, 
looked  the  terrors  of  the  wilderness  in  the  face  with  cheeks  unblanched, 
endured  cold  and  hunger  without  a  murmur,  encountered  privation  and 
peril  without  shrinking,  and  died  by  the  wayside  even,  leaving  no 
memorial  of  their  burial  place — and  for  what  ?  That  the  voice  of  sup- 
plication and  prayer  might  rise  from  the  deepest  solitudes  of  our  val- 
leys; that  the  lamp  of  eternal  life  might  be  lit  up  in  the  recesses  of  our 
lone  cabins;  that  the  departing  spirits  of  their  rude  but  noble  tenants 
might  be  cheered  and  sustained  and  reconciled  in  that  awful  hour  by 
the  glorious  promises  of  another  and  a  better  world.  And  now — even 
now — that  all  these  stirring  scenes  are  with  the  past ;  that  the  dreaded 
solitudes  are  no  more;  that  fen  and  forest  and  river  have  been  shorn 
of  their  terrors;  that  hungry  want  and  chilling  privation  have  been  ban- 
ished from  our  hearths ;  these  men — so  fearless,  so  self-sacrificing,  so  per- 
severing, whose  approach  to  our  solitary  abodes  has  so  often  brought 
childhood's  sunniest  smile  to  our  cheeks— are  still  with  us;  but,  unlike 
everything  else  about  them,  they  have  not  changed.  The  same  sternness 
of  purpose,  the  same  unflagging  zeal,  the  same  untiring  effort  as  in  the 
beginning  still  stamp  their  conduct  and  action.  They  have  suffered  no 
pause  in  their  labors,  and  follow  the  steps  of  improvement  now,  only  to 
gather  materials  and  to  seize  occasions  the  better  to  scatter  the  choicest 
of  Heaven's  blessings  along  their  pathway." 


BR  SIMPSON'S  INAVGUBATION.  171 

The  inaugural  address  was  admirably  suited  to  its  pur- 
pose, namely,  to  awaken  a  sense  of  the  value  of  education 
in  the  minds  of  a  frontier  people.     It  has,  what  many  ad- 
dresses of  the  kind  lack,  a  beginning,  middle,  and  end.     It 
starts  out  with  the  assertion  that  man  is  the  creature  of  ed- 
ucation ;  that  he  is  perpetually  receiving  an  education ;  that 
our  only  power  is  to  choose  in  what  youth  shall  be  educated. 
The  thought  of  an  election  of  studies  by  students  fresh  from 
farm  and  forest  was  not  in  his  mind  or  in  his  plan.     He 
proceeds  to  argue  that  individual  character  depends  on  the 
kind  of  education  received,  and  that  national  character  de- 
pends upon  the  same  cause,  and  so  gathers  up  a  cumulative 
argument  which  must  have  made  a  great  impression  upon 
the  assembly.     His  plea  for  the  ancient  classic  languages  is 
manly,  and  is  the  plea  of  one  who  has  tasted  their  sweetness. 
But  still  better  is  his  plea  for  Christianity  in  culture, 
and  his  repulse  of  the  charge  of  sectarianism  if  culture 
be  made  Christian :  "  If  by  sectarianism  be  meant  that  any 
privilege  shall  be  extended  to  youth  of  one  denomination 
more  than  another,  or  that  the  faculty  shall  endeavor  to 
proselyte  those  placed  under  their  instruction,  or  dwell  upon 
the  minor  points  controverted  between  the  great  branches 
of  the  Christian  family,  then  there  is  not,  and  we  hope 
there  never  will  be,  sectarianism  here.     But  if  by  sectari- 
anism be  meant  that  the  professors  are  religious  men,  and 
that  they  have  settled  views  upon  Christian  character  and 
duty,  then  we  ever  hope  to  be  sectarian.     And  what  in- 
stitution is  not  ?    Where  can  the  line  be  drawn  ?     If  it  be 
sectarian  to  differ  from  one  man's  religion,  then  it  is  equally 
sectarian  to  differ  from  that  of  another.     Where  shall  we 
pause  ?    We  must  not  believe  in  a  future  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments,  for  that  is  sectarian.     We  must  not  teach 
that  the  Messiah  has  appeared,  or  the  Jew  cries  out  "  sec- 
tarian."    We  must  not  claim  the  Bible  as  inspired,  or  the 
Deist  is  shocked  at  our  illiberality.     We  must  not  deny  the 
existence  of  pagan  gods,  or  Kero's  torch  is  the  brilliant 


172  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

argument  against  sectarianism.  Nay,  we  must  not  admit 
the  existence  of  a  God,  or  the  Atheist  will  rail  at  our  want 
of  liberal  feeling.  What  then  shall  we  do  ?  "Whether  Pa- 
gans or  Atheists,  Mohammedans  or  Jews,  Deists  or  Chris- 
tians, still  they  are  sectarian.  The  only  persons  who  are 
properly  free  from  sectarianism  are  those  who  either  believe 
all  things  or  who  believe  not /ting." 

The  inaugural  address,  both  while  in  preparation  and 
after  its  delivery,  deeply  interested  the  watchful  uncle,  who 
was  still  the  mentor  of  his  beloved  boy.  He  advises  the 
president  that  he  must  not  undertake  too  much,  or  ex- 
pect too  much  from  himself  in  the  circumstances  of  his 
position : 

•'  Your  having  to  attend  to  all  the  duties  ot  the  college,  together  with 
the  anxiety  about  your  absent  family,  and  other  incidental  labors,  must 
make  much  against  you  in  preparing  the  inaugural ;  for  that  would  need 
your  undivided  attention,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  those  who  have  made 
such  luminous  addresses  had  leisure  to  attend  to  the  subjects  of  them 
and  were  free  from  other  embarrassments.  But  you,  in  all  your  attempts 
to  do  anything  important,  have  been  clogged  with  other  cares;  yet,  the 
Lord  being  with  you,  you  have  acquitted  yourself  with  as  much  credit 
as  you  ought  to  desire ;  and  I  hope  so  it  will  be  in  this  ease.  And,  in- 
deed, if  the  prayers  of  one  so  unworthy  as  I  am  can  avail  in  your  be- 
half, you  will  always  excel,  both  in  knowledge  and  usefulness ;  reputation 
would  follow  as  a  matter  of  course.  There  are  few  men,  if  any,  who 
have  had  greater  facility  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  literature,  lan- 
guages, and  science  than  yourself.  And  why  should  you  be  mortified  if 
some  others  should  be  rated  higher  than  you  in  speech-making?  Yours 
will  be  good  and  fully  equal  to  what  the  best  of  them  at  your  age  and 
experience  could  have  made;  therefore  endeavor  to  avoid  anxiety  about 
it;  commit  yourself  and  your  work  to  God,  and  be  content  to  pass  for 
what  you  are  worth." 

Upon  the  assured  success  of  the  address,  the  uncle  writes 
again,  mingling  with  the  reports  of  the  approbation  of  dis- 
tinguished men  sober  counsels : 

"  I  had  a  conversation  with  Charles  Elliott  on  your  inaugural,  and  he 
said  it  was  great,  but  had  some  faults;  no,  not  faults  cither,  but  in  some 


ROUGHING   IT  IN  INDIANA.  ifcj 

places  it  might  have  been  improved,  but  it  was  such  as  he  could  not 
make.  Some  two  or  three  weeks  siuce  I  was  at  Hamline's  house,  and  he 
said  he  had  been  looking  over  President  Simpson's  address;  and  I  said, 
'  What  do  you  think  of  it  V  He  answered,  '  It  is  great.'  I  said,  '  He  has 
never  had  time  to  cultivate  a  fine  style.'  He  answered,  'The  language  of 
that  address  is  fine  indeed  ;  upon  the  whole  it  was  the  best  inaugural  made 
by  any  Methodist  preacher  at  the  head  of  a  college.  President  Olin's  might 
be  written  in  a  smoother  style,  but  was  much  inferior.'  I  said,  'You  do 
not  think  it  above  criticism?'  He  said, '  No;  he  had  never  yet  seen  anything 
so  perfect  as  not  to  leave  some  room  for  the  critic.  You  were  so  perfectly 
unassuming  you  must  command  an  unbounded  respect.'  When  such  men 
as  L.  L.  Hamline  praise  your  work  it  amounts  to  something.  But  while 
I  am  exceeding  joyful  at  the  success  of  your  performance,  I  would  ad- 
monish thee  to  remember  whence  cometli  thy  strength,  and  in  deep  hu- 
mility adore  that  fountain  of  light  from  whence  a  ray  has  enlightened 
thee.  And  remember,  too,  that  popularity  of  any  kind  is  very  uncertain  ; 
it  is  a  variable  breeze  on  which  you  may  now  float  to  the  clouds,  and  then 
sink  to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  and  mere  trifles  may  be  the  occasion  of 
the  rise  and  fall." 

His  manner  of  roughing  it  in  Indiana,  when  trying  to 
serve  the  university,  is  described  in  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Simp- 
son, then  in  Pittsburgh  visiting  her  father's  family  : 

"  The  evening  after  you  left  I  spent  in  Cincinnati,  and  the  next  day  I 
expected  to  leave  in  the  mail  boat,  but  just  as  I  got  through  my  business 
and  reached  the  wharf  the  boat  shoved  off  and  I  was  left.  I  engaged 
my  passage  on  one  to  leave  at  four  o'clock,  but  it  did  not  leave  till  eleven 
at  night.  We  ran  slowly  all  night,  and  did  not  arrive  in  Madison  until 
after  the  cars  had  started.  There  I  was  detained  a  day.  Next  day  took 
the  cars  at  Madison  and  arrived  at  Vernon,  where  I  had  left  my  horse, 
expecting  to  go  on  immediately,  as  the  wTaters  were  rising  and  it  was 
supposed  would  soon  be  impassable.  The  gentleman  with  whom  I  had 
left  my  horse  had  loaned  him  to  a  young  man  to  go  into  the  country.  The 
young  man  had  not  returned,  and  so  there  I  was  detained.  An  appoint- 
ment was  circulated  for  me  to  preach,  and  I  endeavored  to  fill  it;  but  it 
commenced  raining,  and  rained  so  incessantly  I  had  a  small  congrega- 
tion. The  next  day  it  continued  to  rain  and  the  waters  were  much 
swollen,  and  the  young  man  did  not  return  with  my  horse.  I  found  my- 
self obliged  either  to  remain  there,  or  to  procure  some  other  conveyance  ; 
a  man  who  had  seen  my  horse  offered  to  trade  for  him  another  horse  by 
giving  some  boot.     This  I  concluded  to  do,  and  so  left  in  the  afternoon. 


174  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

The  streams  were  all  high,  and  over  three  of  them  my  horse  swam,  while 
I  went  over  in  a  canoe.  With  much  difficulty  I  reached  Indianapolis 
Saturday  night,  after  Mr.  Wilkins's  family  had  nearly  all  gone  to  bed.  I 
stayed  with  them  and  preached  twice  on  Sabbath.  I  also  spent  Monday 
and  Tuesday  morning  there.  Tuesday  noon  I  left  for  Belleville,  where  I 
arrived  in  the  evening,  and,  according  to  previous  appointment,  preached 
a  sermon.  And  on  "Wednesday  noon  found  myself  once  more  in  Green- 
castle  in  as  good  health  as  I  usually  enjoy.  Our  college  commenced  at 
the  usual  time  in  our  new  building,  and  thus  far  things  move  pleasantly.1' 

With  the  university  it  was  a  question  of  life  or  death.  All 
depended  on  the  energy  of  the  young  president ;  by  a  vote 
of  the  trustees  he  was  requested  to  travel  through  the  state, 
and  to  preach  and  lecture  to  the  people  on  education.  As 
between  himself  and  the  university,  we  may  be  sure  that 
President  Simpson  had  his  mind  made  up  that  he  would  die 
before  it  should  fail.  Here  is  another  brief  account  to  his 
wife,  then  in  Pittsburgh,  of  one  of  his  tours.*  The  date  is 
June,  1S43 : 

"  I  suppose  I  need  hardly  say  that  I  most  cordially  join  you  in  wishing 
to  be  at  home.  You  know  me  well  enough  to  be  perfectly  assured  that 
there  is  'no  place  like  home.''  But  duty,  at  least  duty  to  fill  my  engage- 
ments, demands  that  I  shall  spend  another  week  before  I  turn  my  steps 
homeward,  and  then,  when  I  do  start,  I  shall  be  a  week  on  the  way. 
Take  good  care  of  the  children,  keep  up  your  spirits,  and  Providence  may 
yet  intend  to  give  us  a  happy  life. 

"My  health  has  been  better  than  I  expected,  considering  my  labors. 
I  think  that  I  am  over  the  severest  work,  and  though  my  voice  is  much 
broken,  I  was  able  to  speak  twice  yesterday  with  considerable  ease. 
Since  I  left  you  I  have  delivered  thirty  sermons,  and  twenty-three  lectures, 
and  have  travelled  upwards  of  four  hundred  miles  in  twenty-three  days. 
So  you  see  I  have  not  been  quite  idle.  Yet  in  all  my  labors  I  have 
thought  much  of  you,  and  perhaps  have  sent  some  thoughts  thither  that 
I  should  have  directed  to  a  higher  source.  .  .  .  Before  you  receive  this  I 
presume  I  shall  have  passed  my  thirty-second  year,  and  entered  on  my 
thirty-third.  Oh,  how  time  flies!  Four  years  longer  have  I  lived  than  I 
expected  to,  and  yet  how  little  have  I  done! 

*  Much  of  his  travelling  was  on  horseback. 


ARDUOUS  LABORS.  175 

"  Before  I  see  you  I  have  yet  to  travel  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles, 
to  preacli  twelve  or  thirteen  times,  and  to  deliver  some  ten  lectures.  Pray 
that  I  may  be  sustained,  and  that  God  may  give  me  such  favor  in  the 
eyes  of  the  people  that  his  own  cause  may  be  advanced. 

"  Take  care  of  our  pretty  flowers ;  let  me  see  how  pretty  a  garden  you 
will  have  when  I  get  back.  I  must  close,  as  I  presume,  by  the  sound, 
breakfast  must  be  nearly  ready,  and  I  have  snatched  the  first  moments 
of  the  morning  for  conversing  with  you." 

His  diary  of  travel  through  Indiana,  in  the  service  of  the 
university,  shows  both  the  primitive  condition  of  the  coun- 
try and  the  energy  with  which  he  prosecuted  his  work.  We 
give  a  few  passages  only  : 

"  In  obedience  to  a  resolution  of  the  Annual  Conference,  and  the  re- 
quest of  the  trustees  of  the  university,  I  left  Greencastle  to  take  a  tour 
through  the  state : 

Monday,  May  23.— Half-past  nine  started  with  the  Rev.  S.  C.  Cooper, 
agent  of  the  university,  on  horseback.  .  .  . 

Thursday,  June  2.— Started  for  Valparaiso.  On  the  way  collected  a 
number  of  flowers  and  plants.  The  principal  ones  among  them  are  beau- 
tiful. On  the  way,  saw  in  the  road  a  very  large  gray  wolf,  which  showed 
little  disposition  to  run  from  us.  Arrived  at  Brother  "Wallace's  just  as 
it  began  to  rain,  and  at  three  preached  to  a  small  audience  that  had 
assembled,  notwithstanding  the  weather,  in  the  temporary  court-house. 

Friday,  June  10. — Rode  to  Elkhart,  and  stopped  with  Squire  Beards- 
ley,  and  preached  at  night  to  a  large  congregation. 

Saturday,  June  11. — Arrived  at  half-past  nine  on  the  Goshen  camp- 
ground, where  we  spent  our  time  till  Tuesday  morning.  Had  a  very 
pleasant  meeting;  preached  Saturday  and  Sabbath,  lectured  Monday, 
and  exhorted  Monday  night.  Here  I  became  acquainted  with  a  number 
of  persons,  and  several  will  send  us  students." 

And  so  it  went  on  week  by  week,  travelling,  lecturing, 
and  preaching  every  day,  with  all  the  ardor  which  a  poli- 
tician would  throw  into  a  well-contested  campaign.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  under  these  conditions  the  university 
prospered. 

His  friend,  E.  R.  Ames,  afterwards  his  colleague  in  the 
episcopal  office,  but  then  a  presiding  elder  in  one  of  the 


176  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Indiana  Conference  districts,  co-operated  with  him  most 
vigorously.     Ames  thus  writes  to  Simpson : 

'■  I  received  a  letter  from  Wiley  last  week ;  he  says  in  his  district  the 
preachers  will  raise  the  whole  amount  pledged  for  the  current  expenses 
of  the  university,  but  adds  he  is  convinced  we  must  at  least  have  a  jjar- 
tial  endowment,  as  the  preachers  will  not  long  consent  to  beg  for  it,  as 
they  now  do.  The  'grasshopper'  seems  to  have  become  a  '  burden'  to 
the  good  brother.  Eddy  was  at  my  Quarterly  Meeting,  at  Jeffersonville, 
two  weeks  ago,  and  told  me  his  district  would  raise  their  amount.  On 
the  whole,  I  think  we  shall  get  $1200  for  you,  if  you  do  not  all  starve 
to  death  before  we  collect  it.'' 

The  first  thought  of  the  Methodists  of  that  time,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  ministers  who  were  drafted  for  service  as  edu- 
cators, was  that  these  lucky  favorites  were  assigned  to  places 
of  comfort  and  ease.     Invidious  comparisons  were  made, 
much  to  their  disadvantage,  between  them  and  the  toil-worn 
itinerants.     If  the  appointees  to  college  chairs  were  Con- 
ference probationers,  it  was  in  some  sense  felt  that  they  had 
not  entered  into  the  ministerial  fold  through  the  door  of 
self-sacrifice,  but  had  climbed  over  some  other  way.     The 
feeling,  if  not  reasonable,  was  natural ;  from  the  unrest  of 
the  itinerancy,  from  the  sense  of  homelessness  which  the 
travelling  preacher  carried  with  him,  till  he  had  learned  to 
regard  his  Conference  as  his  home,  the  educators  of  the 
Church  were  happily  free.     But,  on  the  other  hand,  what  a 
story  of  privation,  of  struggles  with  narrow  means,  of  con- 
suming anxieties,  of  hopes  deferred,  is  crowded  into  their 
lives !     The  heroisms  of  Methodist  evangelism  are  fully  par- 
alleled by  the  heroisms  which  give  splendor  to  the  lives  of 
the  men  who  founded  and  built  up  our  Methodist  schools. 
And  when  we  remember  that  much  of  this  work  is  mission- 
ary;  ^that  wherever  Methodist  churches  are  planted,  whether 
in  our  own  South,  in  Africa,  or  in  Asia,  the  Methodist  school 
rises  up  in  the  midst  of  them,  we  cannot  rate  at  too  high  a 
value  the  men  and  women  who  have  consecrated  themselves 
to  teaching.     The  preacher  has  an  instant  triumph,  the  tri- 


TUB  HEROISMS    OF  METHODIST  EDUCATION.       177 

umph  of  his  persuasive  power,  visibly  appearing  in.  the 
changed  dispositions  of  the  people ;  the  teacher  must  wait 
years  for  the  ripening  of  his  harvest.  Never  was  Bishop 
Simpson  so  truly  a  seed-sower  as  in  the  days  when  he 
planted  the  love  of  learning  in  the  hearts  of  the  Methodists 
of  Indiana.  Never  before  was  the  care  of  the  highest  cul- 
ture, usually  confined  to  the  rich,  so  bravely  committed  to 
the  love  and  support  of  the  common  people. 
12 


IX. 

LIFE  IN  INDIANA.— THE  MATUBED   ORATOR. 


1839-1848. 


Bishop  Simpson  in  the  Maturity  of  his  Oratorical  Power.— Deep  Interest 
of  the  People  of  Indiana  in  Preaching. — Religion  and  Politics. — His 
Unquestioning  Faith  in  Christian  Truth.— Sympathetic  Quality  of  his 
Voice. — The  Great  Preachers  of  Indiana,  Simpson,  Ames,  and  Beecher. 
— The  Influence  of  Methodism  on  Henry  "Ward  Beecher's  Preaching. — 
Rev.  James  Hill's  Account  of  the  Centennial  Sermon,  1S39. — Pounding 
an  Excited  Hearer  on  the  Back.— Description  by  Rev.  O.  S.  Munsell  of  a 
Sermon  Delivered  at  a  Camp-meeting  near  Greencastle. — Hurrying  of 
the  Crowds  to  the  Meeting -ground. — An  Extraordinary  Climax. — 
Some  Incidents  of  that  Day. — The  Lawyer  at  the  Church  Door. — The 
Rev.  John  L.  Smith's  Narrative. — The  Rev.  Aaron  Gurney's  Reminis- 
cence.— Contrast  Between  President  Simpson's  Appearance  and  the 
Exhibitions  of  his  Power. — A  Comical  Mistake. — The  Rev.  B.  F.  Raw- 
lins's travel  with  President  Simpson  on  Preaching  Tours. — Marvel- 
lous Effects  of  Simpson's  Descriptions.— The  First  Redeemed  Sinner. 
— A  Break-down  in  the  Midst  of  a  Quagmire. — Bishop  Simpson  at  the 
Tremont  Temple  in  1866.— The  Rev.  R.  H.  Howard's  Narrative.— The 
Old  Vigor  Still  Alive  in  1870. 


THE    WEST  FIFTY   TEARS  AGO.  181 


IX. 

Hitheeto  we  have  traced  the  growth  of  Matthew  Simp- 
son in  character  and  in  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-church- 
men ;  little  has  been  said  of  that  which  gave  him  his  chief 
distinction — his  power  of  speech.  In  Indiana  he  matured 
as  a  preacher,  and  displayed  perhaps  there,  as  nowhere  else, 
his  overwhelming  energy  in  the  presentation  of  Christian 
truth.  The  times  were  auspicious.  Public  speakers  did  not 
then,  so  much  as  now,  carry  in  their  minds  the  conscious- 
ness that  they  were  addressing  two  audiences,  the  audience 
immediately  before  them,  and  the  greater  multitude  who 
heard  through  the  eye.  Sermons  and  speeches  did  not  then 
reappear  within  a  few  hours  in  cold  type.  Nor  were  speak- 
ers hampered  in  those  days  by  the  thought  that  their  in- 
visible and  innumerable  audience  was  for  them  the  most 
important.  They  addressed  only  their  actual  hearers,  and 
summoned  all  their  powers  to  the  task  of  swaying  them. 
They  reckoned  on  instant  effects  which  their  language,  as 
afterwards  reported,  would  not  wholly  explain.  The  times 
were  propitious,  too,  in  the  condition  of  the  population  of 
the  state.  It  was  a  new  world,  and  the  people  were  quickly 
receptive  of  fresh,  if  also  strong,  impressions.  Traditions 
counted  for  little,  save  only  the  elementary  traditions  of 
Anglo-Saxon  and  Protestant  society.  Keligion  and  politics 
were  the  two  interests  which  took  the  deepest  hold  upon 
all  hearts.  This  is  indeed  true  of  mankind  the  world  over, 
but  in  the  stage  of  society  of  which  we  now  speak  there 
were  no  interests  rivalling  these  two.  Art,  literature,  the 
study  of  the  merely  agreeable  in  life,  the  devotion  to  en- 
joyment for  its  own  sake,  were  as  yet  wholly  unknown 


1S2  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

or,  at  best,  barely  visible.  The  citizens  of  the  state  had  in  a 
high  degree  the  quality  of  moral  thoughtfulness,  and  in  deal- 
ing with  the  problems  of  politics  and  religion  were  wholly 
in  earnest.  A  merely  acquiescent  faith  in  republicanism 
or  in  Christianity  did  not  suit  their  temper. 

Bishop  Simpson  was  in  the  strongest  sense  the  pupil  of 
the  fathers  of  Methodism,  the  inheritor  of  their  methods  of 
address.  His  conviction  of  the  reality  of  the  truths  which 
he  preached  was  all-controlling.  The  invisible  world,  as 
outlined  in  Scripture  was — we  beg  to  repeat  it — as  imme- 
diately near  to  his  apprehension  as  that  in  which  he  lived 
•and  moved.  If  he  ever  philosophized,  which  was  seldom, 
it  was  in  showing  that  the  controlling  forces  of  the  uni- 
verse are  the  unseen  forces.  "  He  literally  illustrated 
Paul's  language :  "  While  we  look  not  at  the  things 
which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen ;  for 
the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things 
which  are  not  seen  are  eternal."  He  did  not  need,  there- 
fore, to  fall  back  on  his  artistic  imagination  in  order  to  give 
a  quasi-reality  in  his  own  mind  to  the  truths  wrhich  he  han- 
dled. They  had  already  become  real  to  him  by  the  power 
of  a  sincere  faith ;  and  he  used  his  imaginative  power  in 
presenting  them  vividly,  and  at  times  dramatically,  to  his 
hearers.  But  above  all  he  had  a  sweet,  sympathetic  nature. 
He  could  have  said  to  Abou  Ben  Adhem's  angel, 

"  then 
Put  me  down  as  one  who  loves  his  fellow-men." 

He  had  learned  from  the  New  Testament  that  there  are 
infinite  possibilities  in  every  man,  and  that  Christ  can  make 
those  possibilities  actual.  He  longed  to  persuade  men  to 
come  under  Christ's  sway,  that  so  his  transforming  power 
might  be  wrought  in  them.  This  is  the  characteristic  of 
his  preaching.  Behind  all  his  speech  there  lay  a  deep,  out- 
welling  tenderness,  which  began  to  stir  and  move  as  soon  as 
he  saw  the  people  before  him  ready  to  receive  his  message. 


SIMPSON,  AMES,  AND  BEEGUER.  183 

Yet  it  was  not  a  feminine  tenderness  which  spent  itself  in 
tears ;  it  was  wholly  masculine,  and  plied  argument  upon  ar- 
gument, convincing,  persuading,  mastering,  while  it  melted 
the  hardest  hearts.  And  then  he  had  for  the  execution  of 
his  instinctive  impulse,  which  had  shaped  itself  into  a  pur- 
pose, a  marvellous  instrument  in  his  voice.  Some  have  called 
it  harsh  ;  but  that  was  scarcely  the  proper  term.  His  voice 
was  not  so  much  harsh  as  thin  when  its  first  pulsations  fell 
upon  the  ear.  It  was  not  deep,  but  it  was  penetrating ;  it 
had  not  a  single  bass  undertone,  but  it  went  out  from  him 
surcharged  with  feeling.  I  have  seen  hearers  in  tears  be- 
fore he  had  finished  the  exposition  of  his  text,  and  while  he 
was  speaking  in  the  plainest  and  most  didactic  style.  It 
was  not  that  he  had  spoken  an  emotional  sentence,  but  the 
voice,  with  entire  unconsciousness  on  his  part,  blended  with 
feeling,  was  knocking  at  every  heart's  door  and  making  an 
entrance  for  itself.  No  one  listening  to  him  could  at  any 
time  say, "  Now  he  is  summoning  his  utmost  energy  to  take 
me  by  storm."  All  was  spontaneous,  as  if  the  sympathetic 
nature  could  only  thus  find  expression,  as  if  it  instinctively 
sought  to  make  its  own  habitual  feeling  the  feeling  of  all 
who  heard. 

There  were  then  in  Indiana  three  preachers  of  mark, 
Matthew  Simpson,  Edward  R.  Ames,  and  Henry  Ward 
Beecher.  Simpson  and  Ames  were  associates  and  close 
personal  friends.  Of  the  preaching  of  Ames  during  that 
period  tradition  reports  that  in  the  great  out-door  meetings 
its  effects  were  beyond  description.  Often  in  the  torrent- 
height  of  appeal  he  would  drop  on  his  knees,  and  in  that 
posture  continue  pleading  with  the  people.  Mr.  Beecher 
was  trained  in  the  schools  after  the  New  England  method. 
The  traditions  of  his-  education  were  New  England  tradi- 
tions modified  by  the  personal  influence  of  his  father  as  a 
revivalist.  It  may  be  said  without  hesitation  that  the  pul- 
pit style  by  which  he  was  known  was  acquired  through  his 
contact  with  Western  life,  and  perhaps  Western  Methodist 


184  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

life.  He  says  himself  of  his  entrance  upon  his  Indianapolis 
parish,  in  1839,  the  year  that  Matthew  Simpson  went  to 
Greencastle,  near  by :  "  At  that  period,  after  having 
preached  about  four  years,  I  began  to  know  how  to  preach 
a  little,  and  how  to  gather  souls  into  the  kingdom.  I  began 
to  know  what  a  revival  was  and  how  to  conduct  one."  * 
With  the  Methodist  churches  of  Indianapolis  all  about  him, 
he  could  not  fail  to  learn  that  much.  He  broke  through 
the  traditions,  and  was  free,  energetic,  dramatic.  When  he 
was  transferred  to  Brooklyn  he  was  known  as  a  Western 
orator,  and  his  modes  were  recognized  as  Western.  He 
shocked  severely  the  staid^ense  of  propriety  which  till  then 
had  reigned  in  the  Brooklyn  pulpit;  the  people  turned 
from  the  scholarly  Bethune,  whose  written  discourses,  de- 
livered in  a  voice  of  flute-like  melody,  were  models  of  purest 
English,  to  this  wonder  from  Indiana,  who  spoke  with  sub- 
duing energy  to  the  hearts  of  the  people.f  Indiana's  gift  to 
the  country  of  Simpson,  Ames,  and  Beecher  was  one  of  rich 
fruitage,  not  all  of  it  perhaps  yet  gathered  in. 

There  may  be  some  doubt  felt  of  the  accuracy  of  our 
statement  concerning  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Beecher 
learned  the  art  of  preaching.  On  such  a  point  he  is  himself 
the  most  competent  witness.  The  year  before  his  death, 
when  in  England,  he  gave  much  of  his  personal  history  to  a 
meeting  of  the  Board  of  London  Congregational  Ministers. 
Speaking  of  the  time  when  he  first  knew  Christ  as  a  per- 
sonal Saviour  he  thus  describes  himself :  "  I  will  not  repeat 
the  scene  of  that  morning  when  light  broke  fairly  on  my 
mind ;  how  one  might  have  thought  that  I  was  a  lunatic 
escaped  from  confinement ;  how  I  ran  up  and  down  through 

*  "  Henry  Ward  Beecher :  a  Sketch  of  his  Career,  by  Lyman  Abbott  and 
S.  B.  Halliday,"  pp.  43,  44. 

f  I  have  heard  it  said  that  Bethune  was  in  early  manhood  a  hearer  of 
Summerfield,  and  had  modelled  his  manner  upon  Summerfield's.  But 
what  feasts  tor  the  soul  Bethune's  sermons  were,  and  on  the  platform 
how  few  could  compare  with  him  ! 


if 


BISHOP  EDWARD   R.  AMES. 


UENRT  WARD  BEE  CHER'S   TRAININO.  185 

the  primeval  forest  of  Ohio,  shouting  <  Glory,  Glory  !'  some- 
times in  loud  tones  and  at  other  times  whispered  in  an  ec- 
stasy of  joy  and  surprise ;  all  the  old  troubles  gone,  and, 
light  breaking  in  on  my  mind,  I  cried,  '  I  have  found  my 
God,  I  have  found  my  God.' 

"  From  that  hour  I  consecrated  myself  to  the  work  of  the 
ministr}-.  I  had  been  studying  theology.  You  would  not 
suspect  it,  but  I  know  a  good  deal  of  theology.  [Much 
laughter].  Well,  I  was  called  to  work  in  Ohio  and  Indi- 
ana, and  very  soon  I  found  that  my  work  was  very  largely 
"missionary,  for  the  states  were  then  young — it  was  fifty 
years  ago  —  and  they  were  very  largely  peopled  by  emi- 
grants, men  that  had  come  without  fortune  to  make  for- 
tune. I  went  through  the  woods  and  through  camp-meet- 
ings and  over  prairies.  Everywhere  my  vacations  were  all 
missionary  tours,  preaching  Christ  for  the  hope  of  salva- 
tion. I  am  not  saying  this  to  show  you  how  I  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  Christ,  but  to  show  you  how  I  came  to  the 
habit  and  forms  of  my  ministry.  I  tried  everything  on  to 
folks."  *  Thus,  when  nearing  the  close  of  life,  Mr.  Beecher 
dwelt  with  evident  fondness  on  those  influences  which  had 
formed  him  as  a  preacher,  and  they  were  the  same  as  the 
influences  which  had  formed  Simpson  and  Ames.  On  a 
New  England  stock  had  been  engrafted  a  Methodist  life 
for  experience,  and  Methodist  energy  for  the  preaching  of 
Christianity. 

For  any  account  of  the  effects  of  Bishop  Simpson's  preach- 
ing, we  must  of  course  depend  upon  the  recollections  of 
those  who  heard  him.  The  sermons  as  secured  for  us  by 
shorthand  reports  do,  however,  show  much.  They  reveal 
a  body  of  scriptural  thought,  good  arrangement,  striking 
and  often  beautiful  illustrations,  direct  vision  of  the  scene 
described,  for  both  speaker  and  hearer,  and  tremendous 
intensity.     What  they  cannot  reveal  is  the  power  of  the 

*  Abbott  and  Halliday,  p.  607. 


186  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

preacher's  personality ;  for  this  we  must  have  recourse  to 
the  testimony  of  eye  and  ear  witnesses  : 

One  of  the  best  remembered  of  his  Indiana  sermons  is 
that  preached  before  the  Conference  at  Lawrenceburgh,  in 
1839,  the  centennial  of  British  Methodism.  The  Bev.  James 
Hill  thus  describes  it : 

"In  the  fall  of  1839  the  Indiana  Conference  held  its  an- 
nual session  for  that  year  in  the  court-house  at  Lawrence- 
burgh. Bishop  Morris  was  in  the  chair.  The  services  for 
the  Sabbath  were  held  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
a  small  brick  building  of  one  story,  with  two  aisles,  and  a 
narrow,  high  pulpit.  The  morning  sermon  was  by  Dr. 
Simpson,  recently  elected  president  of  Indiana  Asbury  Uni- 
versity. As  this  was  his  introduction  to  the  Conference, 
great  interest  was  felt  in  the  success  of  the  occasion.  His 
text  was  Ezekiel,  forty-seventh  chapter,  first  nine  verses, 
the  vision  of  the  healing  waters.  Their  increase  and  life- 
giving  properties  were  to  indicate  the  spread  and  saving  in- 
fluence of  Christianity.  No  one  knew  what  to  expect.  He 
had  the  appearance  of  a  mere  youth  —  beardless,  a  little 
stooped.  I  thought,  as  he  was  being  conducted  to  the  pul- 
pit, that  he  was  the  most  pure  and  beautiful  young  man  I 
had  ever  looked  upon.  Wonderful  expression  as  he  pro- 
ceeded to  wade  into  the  waters  to  the  ankles,  knees,  and 
loins.  His  great  soul  came  into  his  face,  with  a  naturalness 
indescribable.  Light  seemed  to  flash  from  side  to  side.  The 
packed  audience  was  thrilled  and  swayed  at  the  will  of  the 
orator.  With  every  fresh  unfolding  of  the  subject  there 
came  a  fresh  gust  of  tears  and  shouting.  On  went  the 
stream  until  we  from  the  mountain-top  could  see  a  mighty 
torrent  sweeping  everything  before  it,  cutting  for  itself 
a  deep  and  wide  channel,  carrying  huge  rocks  and  giant 
trees  in  its  course.  We  could  see  the  waters  spreading 
over  all  the  plains.  To  give  some  faint  idea  of  the 
eloquence  of  the  speaker :  Brother  W.  sat  by  me — a  good 
preacher,  and  intelligent.     I  could  not  keep  him  quiet :  he 


A  CAMP-MEETING  SERMON.  187 

stamped  the  floor  with  his  feet ;  shouted  aloud,  '  Did  you 
ever  hear  the  like  V  and  kept  on  at  this,  so  that  I  would 
lose  a  word  now  and  then.  I  tried  to  hold  his  feet  still  by 
pressing  on  his  knees.  Finally,  I  forced  his  head  down  be- 
tween the  seats  and  pounded  him  on  the  back ;  one  loving 
blow  on  the  back  of  his  head  brought  him  to  his  senses. 
When  the  preacher  came  to  the  '  multitude  of  fishes,'  the 
sermon  was  almost  overpowering." 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  O.  S.  Munsell,  formerly  of  Illinois,  now 
of  Kansas,  we  have  an  account  of  a  sermon  preached  dur- 
ing the  period  of  his  student-life  at  Greencastle : 

"  In  the  summer  of  1S42  I  was  a  student  in  the  Indiana 
Asbury  University.  One  Monday,  this  summer,  at  11  o'clock 
a.m.,  I  was  reciting  with  my  class  to  Professor  Larrabee,  when 
we  heard  some  one  running  hastily  up  the  stairway ;  the 
door  was  thrown  open,  and  the  messenger  called  out  to  us, 
'  President  Simpson  preaches  at  the  camp-ground  at  one 
o'clock.'  At  once  all  was  confusion ;  the  students,  without 
dismissal  or  leave,  gathered  up  their  books,  and  hastened 
away.  On  my  way  to  the  camp-ground,  with  a  comrade, 
we  noticed  the  fact  that  roads,  fields,  and  by-paths  were 
alive  with  people  hurrying  to  the  place  of  meeting,  and  my 
companion  quoted  the  Master's  words :  '  Say  ye  not  there  be 
four  months,  and  then  cometh  the  harvest  ?  The  fields  are 
already  white  to  the  harvest.'  The  audience  was  very  large, 
much  larger,  indeed,  than  it  had  been  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
I  noticed  that  the  great  altar-rail,  enclosing  a  space  that 
would  seat  five  hundred  persons,  was  filled  with  the  earnest 
Christians  of  the  town  and  surrounding  country. 

"  Dr.  Simpson  took  his  text  from  the  Prophet  Joel,  iii. 
14 :  '  Multitudes,  multitudes,  in  the  valley  of  decision :  for 
the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near  in  the  valley  of  decision.'  In 
the  outset  he  pointed  out  what  he  understood  to  be  the  lit- 
eral meaning  and  application  of  the  text ;  but  said  that,  in 
a  proper  sense,  and  without  violence  to  the  spirit  of  the  di- 
vine message,  it  might  be  applied  directly  to  the  great  mul- 


18S  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

titude  gathered  there  that  day ;  and  that  he  could  truthfully 
address  them  personally  and  say,  as  a  messenger  from  God, 
'  Multitudes,  multitudes  in  the  valley  of  decision.'  He  then 
proceeded  to  consider  the  people  before  him,  in  groups,  in 
the  light  of  their  personal  characters,  as  God  saw  them : 
the  scorner,  the  hardened  sinner,  the  hypocrite,  the  back- 
slider, the  penitent,  and  the  child  of  God ;  and  he  portrayed 
each  type  of  character  with  such  clearness,  vividness,  and 
power  that  its  personality  seemed  to  stand  before  us  a  living 
thing. 

He  brought  the  congregation  one  by  one  to  '  the  valley  of 
decision,'  warning  them  that  to  some  of  them  it  was,  proba- 
bly, the  valley  of  final  decision  which  should  determine  for 
them,  severally,  the  weal  or  woe  of  eternity.  His  personal 
appeals  to  each  were  almost  terrible  in  their  simple  direct- 
ness, pathos,  and  energy.  Then,  swiftly  changing  the  scene, 
he  called  up  before  us  that  other,  more  trying,  because  final, 
valley  of  decision,  the  judgment-bar  of  God,  and  marshalled 
before  it  the  mighty  hosts  of  kindreds,  tongues,  and  peoples 
who  should  be  gathered  there ;  and  with  terrible  power, 
in  the  person  of  the  Judge,  one  by  one,  he  pronounced 
the  doom  of  the  several  classes  he  had  previously  por- 
trayed, bringing  out  a  thought  which  I  had  never  before 
realized,  if,  indeed,  I  had  ever  conceived  it  at  all — that  the 
several  peculiarities  of  our  individual  characters  will  be  the 
chief  and  determining  elements  in  our  several  awards.  He 
then,  in  words  of  marvellous  force,  dismissed  them  to  their 
dooms  or  rewards,  closing  with  the  blessing  on  the  humble, 
faithful  Christian.  The  picture  he  drew  was  thrilling  be- 
yond all  description  as  he  portrayed  the  glorified  Christ 
leading  the  hosts  of  God's  elect  children  from  the  judgment- 
bar  to  the  gates  of  heaven,  while  the  angels  cried, '  Lift  up 
your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting 
doors ;  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in.'  It  seemed 
that  in  this  triumphant  entrance  into  heaven  thought  and 
language  alike  must  be  exhausted,  but  not  so;  the  almost 


A    GREAT  EXCITEMENT.  189 

inspired  orator,  grasping  in  his  vision  the  individual  soul  of 
an  humble  but  glorified  saint,  whose  life  he  had  previously 
described  to  us,  placed  him  before  the  throne,  and  face  to 
face  with  the  King ;  and  then,  in  language  almost  indescrib- 
able, he  pictured  that  same  soul  gazing,  gazing,  ever  gazing 
upon  the  unveiled  face  of  its  Redeemer,  and,  as  he  looked, 
being  evermore  changed  into  the  same  likeness,  and  yet  ever- 
more hungering  more  and  more  as  the  soul  expanded  in  its 
attempts  to  grasp  the  infinite  beauty,  the  infinite  perfections, 
and  the  infinite  glory  of  God. 

"At  this  point  the  preacher  seemed  wholly  to  lose  all  con- 
sciousness of  the  presence  of  the  vast,  excited  multitude 
hanging  upon  his  words,  and,  with  lifted  eyes  he  soared 
upward,  and  still  upward,  till  human  souls  could  endure  no 
more ;  and,  as  with  a  voice  of  many  waters,  the  multitude 
of  the  people  in  the  great  altar  sprang  to  their  feet,  with 
shouts  and  cries  and  tears  and  laughter.  There,  in  that 
mighty  mass  of  surging  humanity,  were  the  young  and  the 
old,  the  black  and  the  white,  the  polished  student  and  the 
ignorant  day-laborer,  the  earnest  Christian  and  the  apostate 
— all  shouting,  laughing,  crying,  as  their  emotions  moved 
them.  The  speaker  was  silenced  at  once,  and  sat  down 
exhausted ;  but  the  spiritual  influences  which  he  had  called 
into  being  moved  on,  and  on  ;  for  not  only  were  wicked 
deniers  of  Christ  there  reclaimed,  but  men  who  never  before 
had  sought  God  were  converted  and  saved.  For  more  than 
an  hour  the  excitement  was  so  intense  that  all  efforts  to 
control  it,  even  by  singing,  were  unavailing. 

"I  noted  some  strange  facts.  It  was  well  known  that 
while  Dr.  Simpson  had  no  antipathy  to  the  shouting  quite 
common  in  that  day,  yet  he  could  not  make  head  against 
it  when  preaching,  and  was  compelled  to  stop  when  it  be- 
gan, so  that  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  persons  un- 
der his  preaching  sitting  with  clenched  teeth  and  strug- 
gling with  excitement.  On  this  occasion  there  sat  nearly 
in  front  of  me  two  good  women  in  the  Church,  noted  equal- 


190  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

\j  for  their  earnest  piety,  who  long  sat  with  compressed 
lips  and  trembling  with  excitement  as  the  discourse  went 
on.  One  of  them  started  to  her  feet,  unable  to  restrain 
herself  longer ;  but  instantly  a  good  brother  sitting  behind 
her  laid  his  strong  hand  over  her  lips  and  pulled  her  down 
into  her  seat. 

"  The  intensity  of  the  excitement  upon  some  nervous  or- 
ganizations in  the  audience  was  so  great  as  to  produce  pros- 
tration amounting  to  illness  for  days  afterwards.  Among 
those  thus  affected  was  Professor  Larrabee,  who,  in  speak- 
ing of  this  sermon,  said  it  was  the  most  eloquent  and 
powerful  to  which  he  had  ever  listened,  and  declared  that, 
if  Simpson  had  been  permitted  to  speak  fifteen  minutes 
longer,  the  excitement,  which  in  him  (Larrabee)  could  find 
no  vent  in  outward  demonstration,  must  have  killed  him. 
The  scenes  of  that  wonderful  day  are  as  fresh  in  memory 
now  as  if  they  had  occurred  but  yesterday." 

"Whether  his  hearers  were  cultivated  or  not,  the  effect 
was  the  same.  A  lawyer  of  Greencastle  was,  on  a  dark 
night,  passing  a  church  in  which  President  Simpson  was 
preaching.  It  was  crowded ;  aisles  were  full  down  to  the 
door.  It  was  raining,  and  the  lawyer  squeezed  himself 
partly  into  the  doorway.  Lie  could  see  little,  but  he  could 
hear;  he  remained  standing  and  listening  till  the  sermon 
was  over,  and  did  not  observe  till  then  that  the  drip  of  the 
rain  had  wet  him  through  and  through. 

The  Eev.  John  L.  Smith,  the  old  and  close  friend  of  the 
bishop,  tells  a  like  story : 

"  In  1844  I  was  stationed  at  Indianapolis,  and  from  that 
time  on  we  were  much  together.  In  the  spring  of  1845  we 
attended  the  dedication  of  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  erected  in  Cambridge  city.  It  was  in  the  month  of 
April,  and  the  national  road  was  in  its  spring  dress  of  mud, 
corduroy,  and  floating  bridges.  The  university  president  ar- 
rived at  Indianapolis  from  Greencastle  on  Friday  evening, 
and  early  on  Saturday  morning  we  started  for  the  place  of  the 


A  SHOEMAKER'S  ACCOUNT  OF  A  SERMON.  191 

dedication,  fifty-two  miles  distant,  both  on  horseback,  with 
leggings,  saddle-bags,  etc.,  in  primitive  Methodist  preachers' 
style. 

"  Among  other  distinguished  persons  who  heard  the  ser- 
mon was  the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  K.  Hoshour,  formerly  minister  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.  Dr.  II.  was  a  man  of 
broad  scholarship,  and  was,  after  the  time  here  mentioned, 
professor  of  German  in  the  Indiana  Asbury  University. 
About  midway  of  his  discourse  Dr.  Simpson  drew  a  vivid 
picture  of  Luther  at  Worms,  who,  when  he  had  finished  his 
defence  in  German,  was  required  by  the  Diet  to  give  it  in 
Latin ;  and  when  Dr.  Simpson,  in  his  own  impassioned  man- 
ner, quoted  in  German  Luther's  final  reply,  Dr.  Hoshour 
broke  down  and  wept  like  a  child. 

"  We  had  at  that  time  in  Indianapolis  a  witty  and  very 
eccentric  shoemaker  by  the  name  of  Joshua  Cooper,  who 
invariably  used  the  language  of  his  craft.  During  a  revival 
a  stranger  from  Illinois  preached,  and  seemed  confused  and 
utterly  failed.  Some  one  asked  Brother  Cooper  what  he 
thought  of  the  sermon  ?  His  laconic  answer  was,  '  Well, 
I  think  the  brother  got  the  bristle  off.'  The  next  night 
Dr.  Simpson  preached  that  grand  and  glorious  sermon 
of  his  on  the  text,  '  I  beseech  Thee,  show  me  Thy  glory.' 
Cooper,  a  long,  lean  Vermont  Yankee,  as  he  was,  became 
greatly  moved,  as  were  many  others  on  that  memorable 
occasion.  On  returning  home  a  friend  said  to  him,  '  Well, 
Brother  Cooper,  what  do  you  think  of  the  sermon  to-night  V 
He  quickly  replied, '  A  good  job  ;  that  Avork  won't  rip.' "  * 

Before  he  became  well  known  to  the  people  of  Indiana 
the  contrast  between  his  unpromising  appearance  and  his 
overpowering  eloquence  heightened  the  effect  of  his  preach- 
ing. The  Rev.  Dr.  Aaron  Gurney  shows  this  in  the  ac- 
count of  a  sermon  which,  in  the  days  of  his  boyhood,  he 


*  We  need  not,  surely,  make  apology  for  the  homely  dialect  in  which 
this  and  some  other  incidents  are  narrated. 


192  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

heard  President  Simpson  preach.     The  place  is  a  carap- 
meeting;  grove : 

"  As  that  song  rolls  a  stream  of  melody  out  through  the 
forest,  through  the  open  door  there  enter  upon  the  plat- 
form John  L.  Smith,  Samuel  II.  Brenton,  Aaron  Wood, 
Richard  Hargrave,  and  several  other  well-known  circuit- 
preachers.  Along  with  them  enters  a  very  young-looking 
man,  smooth  shaven,  ruddy  in  face,  with  low  forehead,  a 
shock  of  brown  hair,  almost  red,  growing  very  near  to  his 
eyebrows,  dressed  in  a  suit  of  blue  jeans  such  as  farmers 
of  that  day  made  and  wore.  He  does  not  look  to  be  over 
twenty-five,  but  is  past  thirty.  This  plain  young  man  at- 
tracts no  attention ;  all  eyes  are  fastened  on  the  great 
preachers  so  well  known,  so  much  loved,  who  come  with 
him.  They  bow  in  prayer,  rise,  take  their  seats,  and  the 
presiding  elder  hands  to  this  stranger  the  Bible  and  hymn- 
book.  Listen !  a  little  hum  of  a  whisper  goes  like  a  ripple 
through  the  throng.  '  Who  is  he  V  '  Do  you  know  him  V  We 
turn  to  our  friend,  a  class-leader,  saying, '  Who  is  that  V  '  I 
don  t  know  him.  He  hain't  a  travelling  preacher.  I  know 
all  the  preachers  of  the  Conference.  He  is  a  local,  I  reck- 
on.' '  Will  they  put  him  up  to  preach  V  '  Certainly  not ; 
the  elder  has  more  sense.  I  think  Brother  Hargrave  will 
preach.  They  are  going  to  let  this  local  preacher  open  the 
service,  I  think,  to  save  Brother  Hargrave's  strength."  Now 
the  stranger  rises,  reads  the  hymn,  and  they  sing  again ; 
then  he  prays,  and  John  L.  Smith  reads  the  Scriptures ;  again 
they  sing ;  and  now  the  stranger,  looking  like  a  farmer  in 
his  Sunday  suit,  rises,  and  the  hope,  that  had  become  gen- 
eral, that  Mr.  Hargrave  would  preach,  is  dashed  away  as  he 
announces  as  his  text  Hebrews  xiii.  12  :  '  Wherefore  Jesus 
also,  that  he  might  sanctify  the  people  with  his  own  blood, 
suffered  without  the  gate.' 

"  He  began  with  a  simple,  plain  description  of  the  Jewish 
sacrifice  of  atonement.  As  he  warmed  with  his  theme  he 
seemed  to  have  a  mental  vision  of  the  whole  scene.     In  re- 


SERMON  ON  CHRIST'S  PRIESTHOOD.  193 

alistio  terms  he  described  the  beauty  of  the  Temple,  the 
smoking  and  blood-stained  altar,  the  slain  lamb  upon  it,  the 
golden  altar  of  incense,  the  sprinkling  priest  within  the  veil, 
the  white-robed  Levites  intoning  the  silvery  psalms,  until 
the  congregation  seemed  to  see  the  imposing  rites  of  the 
Jewish  service  in  action  before  their  very  eyes.  Then  he 
changed  the  scene,  and  took  them  to  Golgotha,  and  con- 
trasted the  Christian  sacrifice  without  the  gate,  the  true 
'  Lamb  of  God '  offered  on  Calvary's  altar,  the  offering  of 
the  body  prepared  by  the  divine  High -priest  of  our  con- 
fession. So  real  was  his  description  that  we  seemed  to  be 
gathered  about  the  cross,  and  to  hear  reviling  Jews  and  in- 
sulting mobs ;  we  saw  the  gambling  soldiers  and  parted  rai- 
ment ;  then  the  awful  horror  of  darkness  ;  the  earthquake, 
the  bursting  rocks  ;  the  convicted  centurion's  confession. 

"  Then,  at  the  cry  from  the  sufferer,  '  It  is  finished,'  he 
turned,  and,  pointing  to  the  spot  where  he  had  placed  the 
Temple,  he  said, '  See  !  See  !  Its  veil  is  rent,  its  holy  of 
holies  is  uncovered.  The  Jewish  priests  we  need  no  more, 
for  our  great  High-priest  has  entered  through  death  into 
the  unseen  holy,  having  obtained  eternal  redemption  for 
us.'  This  is  but  a  dim  outline  of  the  sermon,  remem- 
bered from  my  boyhood.  Its  effect  on  the  audience  I  can 
never  forget.  The  surprise  and  power  of  the  contrast  be- 
tween what  the  people  expected  from  the  boyish  stranger, 
and  what  they  received  from  that  prince  of  preachers, 
heightened  the  effect.  Again  I  seem  to  see  their  eyes  kin- 
dle, their  faces  brighten,  as  the  eye  of  the  preacher  burns 
with  the  light  from  heaven,  and  his  glowing  periods  roll 
like  a  river  of  fire  in  an  unbroken  tide  of  pathos  and  power 
on  their  hearts.  They  swayed  to  and  fro  in  sympathy  with 
his  movements,  they  rose  and  fell  to  the  rhythm  of  his  ges- 
tures ;  they  sobbed,  they  Avept ;  they  shouted  as  the  theme 
opened  before  them  the  agony  of  the  sacrifice  and  trans- 
formed the  vision  of  the  cross  into  the  vision  of  the  throne. 
Amid  a  chorus  of  shouts,  as  the  King  of  Calvary  was  depict- 
13 


194  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

ed  as  '  bringing  many  sons  into  glory,'  the  preacher  sat  down 
and  the  service  ended.  '  Who  is  he  ?  What  preacher  is 
that  V  flew  from  lip  to  lip  as  they  broke  up.  The  answer 
was,  '  That  is  Matthew  Simpson,  the  new  president  of  In- 
diana Asbury  University.'  " 

Sermons  usually  enjoy  an  immortality  of  scarce  a  week, 
many  of  them  of  scarce  a  day.  These  last  two  narratives 
are  descriptions  of  preaching  heard  in  youth,  sermons  which 
burned  themselves  into  the  memory,  and  whose  impression 
is  as  distinct,  after  forty  years,  as  though  it  were  made  only 
yesterday.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  M.  Eddy  Avas  a  younger 
contemporary  of  President  Simpson  and  a  member  of  the 
same  Conference.  He  describes  a  remarkable  scene — a  Con- 
ference sermon  by  the  president,  and  its  effect  upon  preach- 
ers and  people : 

"  We  have  often  witnessed  manifestations  of  his  marvel- 
lous power  over  his  audiences.  We  reproduce  here  one 
scene.  It  was  in  the  fall  of  1846,  at  the  Conference  held  in 
Connersville.  He  was  announced  for  Sabbath  evening,  at 
seven  o'clock ;  but  long  before  six  there  was  a  dense  crowd 
of  eager  men,  women,  and  children  gathered  for  a  whole 
square  around  the  church,  waiting  the  opening  of  the  doors. 
When  they  were  at  last  opened,  what  a  scramble !  I  had 
climbed  up  by  the  aid  of  a  plank,  entered  a  side  window, 
and  had  a  comfortable  position  where  I  could  see  the  strug- 
gle for  seats.  When  so  many  of  the  congregation  as  could 
gain  admission  were  seated,  he  entered  and  pressed  his  way 
through  the  aisles  to  the  pulpit.  His  appearance  during 
the  opening  services  indicated  something  of  embarrassment. 
He  selected  for  his  text  the  memorable  words  of  Jesus, 
'  Behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves : 
be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and  harmless  as  doves.' 

"  His  theme  was,  the  '  Call  and  qualifications  of  the  Chris- 
tian minister.'  The  arguments  employed  on  the  call  were 
most  masterly.  And  although  he  did  not  treat  the  mod- 
est claims  of  '  the  succession '   with  all  the  deference  its 


A  LITTLE  MYSTIFICATION.  195 

votaries  might  desire,  he  did  honor  the  truth  of  God,  and 
clearly  demonstrate  that  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church 
had  never  surrendered  his  right  to  send  forth  his  own  la- 
borers ;  and  that  without  this  divine  call  no  talents,  no  edu- 
cation, no  human  ordination  could  authorize  any  man  to 
enter  upon  the  work  of  the  ministry.  The  qualifications 
for  this  vocation  he  presented  as  twofold.  The  wisdom  of 
the  serpent,  the  harmlessness  of  the  dove ;  that  is,  great 
knowledge  and  deep  personal  piety.  Having  exhibited 
clearly  the  essentials  of  ministerial  qualification,  he  drew  a 
vivid  picture  of  ministerial  toil  and  reward.  We  saw  the 
devoted  itinerant  obeying  the  command  of  Jesus, '  Go.'  Go 
in  the  face  of  poverty,  danger,  death,  disgrace !  We  saw 
his  family  afflicted,  his  own  frame  wasted  and  worn.  We 
followed  him  with  anxious  contemplation  until  we  heard 
the  same  voice  speak  again.  But  it  no  longer  said  '  Go.' 
In  sweetest  accents  it  said  '  Come,  come,  come  up  higher !' 
At  this  point  there  was  an  irrepressible  burst  of  feeling 
among  the  preachers  in  the  congregation,  which  was  so 
overwhelming  and  prolonged  as  to  render  it  impossible  for 
him  to  proceed  for  several  minutes.  As  for  me,  I  would,  at 
the  close  of  that  sermon,  have  willingly  received  an  appoint- 
ment to  Central  Africa." 

The  contrast  between  the  outer  and  inner  man  still  led, 
in  this  period,  to  some  comical  mistakes.  Perhaps  he  took 
a  pleasure,  by  the  use  of  a  plain  and  farmer-like  dress,  in 
mystifying  those  who  did  not  know  him,  and  therefore 
judged  from  appearances.  One  of  his  old  friends  tells  the 
following : 

"  When  Dr.  Simpson  was  president  of  Asbury  University 
he  was  invited  to  dedicate  a  church  built  by  the  Rev.  John 
S.  Inskip,  at  Dayton,  Ohio.  He  was  to  be  the  guest  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Parrott,  a  wealthy  citizen  of  that  city,  who  had  in- 
vited a  number  of  friends  to  take  supper  with  Dr.  Simpson 
on  his  arrival  Saturday  evening.  The  stage  was  a  little 
late,  and  Dr.  Simpson  walked  from  the  hotel  to  Mr.  Par- 


196  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

rott's,  with  his  valise  in  hand.  When  he  rang  the  bell  the 
oldest  daughter  opened  the  door  and  invited  him  in,  suppos- 
ing him  to  be  a  local  preacher.  She  told  her  father  a  plain- 
looking  man  was  in  the  parlor,  and  he  said,  '  Prepare  him  a 
place  at  the  corner  of  the  table,  and  I  will  come  down  and 
see  him.'  In  a  few  moments,  while  the  doctor  was  taking 
his  supper,  Mr.  Parrott  came  in,  and  said  to  the  stranger, 
'  We  are  expecting  Dr.  Simpson  to  arrive  from  Greencastle  to 
dedicate  our  church  to-morrow,  and  we  have  delayed  supper, 
waiting  for  him.  The  doctor  looked  up  in  a  quiet  way,  with 
a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  and  said,  '  That  is  the  name  they  call 
me  by  at  home.'  The  company  was  quickly  invited  in,  and 
a  pleasant  evening  followed.  The  next  morning  at  the  dedi- 
cation he  began  his  sermon  in  his  quiet  manner,  and  as  he 
proceeded  great  interest  was  manifested,  and  he  drew  all 
hearts.  Mr.  Parrott  told  him  afterwards,  '  There  was  no 
judging  from  people's  looks  what  they  could  do,  or  who  they 
were.' " 

The  Eev.  Dr.  B.  F.  Kawlins,  now  of  Texas,  but  a  native 
and  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Indiana,  heard  President 
Simpson  first  in  his  own  boyhood.  One  of  the  early  Asbur- 
ians,  he  shows  how  easily  Simpson  swayed  the  minds  of 
young  and  old : 

"  My  first  acquaintance  with  Bishop  Simpson  began  in 
Bedford,  Indiana,  in  the  summer  of  1842.  It  was  in  the 
month  of  July  or  August,  in  the  hottest  season  of  that  year. 
He  was  then  canvassing  the  state  as  the  president  of  Indi- 
ana Asbury  University.  He  was  comparatively  unknown, 
except  to  the  preachers ;  but  he  was  never  afterwards  un- 
known to  the  community  he  now  visited,  and  to  which  he 
preached  one  of  his  great  sermons.  At  that  time  he  was 
called  Simpson,  Mr.  Simpson,  Doctor  Simpson,  and  Presi- 
dent Simpson.  An  old  woman,  in  shaking  hands  with  him 
after  services  were  over,  called  him  Brother  Simpson,  using 
the  old  Methodist  language,  and  then  apologized  for  it,  say- 
ing, '  Excuse  me,  I  ought  to  say  doctor ;  but  I  am  so  used 


A   SERMON  REMEMBERED  FORTY  TEARS.  197 

to  saying  brother,  I  forget.'  '  Oh,'  said  he,  '  never  mind, 
my  sister ;  it  is  far  sweeter  to  say  brother.  Call  me  Brother 
Simpson,  and  I  will  like  it  better.'  At  the  time  I  am  writ- 
ing of,  I  was  myself  quite  a  lad,  but  partook  of  the  common 
excitement  which  pervaded  the  community  on  the  occasion 
of  the  visit  of  such  a  celebrity.  His  visit  was  in  the  interest 
of  education,  and  the  boys  were  stirred  up  by  that  fact. 

"  His  coadjutor  in  the  work  was  the  Rev.  Samuel  Cooper, 
the  college  agent.  Mr.  Cooper  was  venerable  in  appearance, 
a  much  older  and  a  much  better-looking  man  than  Dr.  Simp- 
son, and,  being  also  a  stranger,  he  was  taken  for  the  president. 
He  generally  conducted  the  opening  service,  and  always 
made  a  very  fervent  prayer ;  and  when,  after  this,  the  un- 
gainly Simpson  rose  to  preach  there  was  a  perceptible  feeling 
of  disappointment ;  but  before  he  was  through  it  was  felt  no 
mistake  had  been  made.  On  this  occasion  the  text  Doctor 
Simpson  preached  from  was  the  forty-fourth  verse  of  the  sec- 
ond chapter  of  Daniel.  '  And  in  the  days  of  these  kings 
shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never 
be  destroyed :  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other 
people,  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these 
kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  forever.'  I  have  never  for- 
gotten that  text,  and  the  place  where  it  was  to  be  found. 
The  sermon  I  have  borne  with  me  all  through  life  ;  Simpson 
as  he  then  appeared,  his  manner,  his  intonation,  his  suffused 
fiery  eye,  his  gesticulation,  have  all  ever  since  stood  out  im- 
pressively before  me.  There  are  not  many  of  that  audience 
now  living ;  but  I  never  return  to  Bedford  without  finding 
a  few  who  recall  it  all  as  vividly  as  myself,  and  I  am  led  to 
believe  that  this  is  an  instance  of  a  sermon  producing  a  last- 
ing impression  upon  a  whole  congregation. 

"  I  think  I  heard  him  when  he  preached  for  the  first  time 
on  a  text  that  afterwards  became  memorable,  and  on  which 
grew  one  of  his  greatest  sermons.  '  But  none  of  these  things 
move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that 
I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry,  which 


198  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God.'  It  was  in  California,  in  1853,  before  a  con- 
ference of  ministers  who  were  confronted  with  great  dis- 
couragements. In  fact  as  an  army  corps,  at  that  time,  they 
were  in  a  demoralized  state,  and  needed  almost  a  revelation 
from  Heaven,  as  did  Israel  at  the  sea.  The  holding  up  of  so 
conspicuous  an  example  as  St.  Paul,  the  picturing  of  his  life, 
with  its  deprivations,  and  the  secret  of  its  power  in  consecra- 
tion to  Jesus,  was  well  chosen ;  and  the  picture  he  showed  was 
one  such  as  only  a  fertile  mind  could  have  created,  and 
in  such  lines  as  drew  forth  the  admiration  of  Paul's  suc- 
cessors, the  preachers,  and  wrought  up  their  courage  to  its 
greatest  height.  Its  effect,  indeed,  was  wonderful  upon  all, 
and  seemed  to  save  the  day  and  the  cause,  and  sent  it  bound- 
ing onwards. 

"  My  next  reminiscence  shall  be  of  a  Conference  scene  in 
Indiana.  It  was  at  Kockport.  Many  people  there  had  never 
met  the  man,  and  they  came  long  distances  to  see  Bishop 
Simpson.  Our  church  at  this  place  was  small,  and  built  in  the 
days  of  the  fathers.  It  was  scarcely  large  enough  to  hold 
the  Conference  and  the  visitors  who  gather  at  one  of  these 
annual  feasts  of  Methodism.  Arrangements  were,  therefore, 
made  for  services  in  an  adjoining  grove  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  so  that  all  who  came  should  have  the  privilege  of  both 
seeing  and  hearing.  Though  the  preparations,  as  was  sup- 
posed, had  been  ample,  it  was  found  that  many  had  to  stand, 
as  they  did,  or  they  sat  in  wagons  and  buggies  drawn  up  so 
closely  that  they  could  hear.  The  morning  was  pleasant, 
the  air  fresh  and  inspiring,  and  the  song  of  the  multitude, 
as  it  floated  out,  seemed  to  roll  up  towards  the  Source  of  all 
song  —  towards  heaven.  The  scene  was  inspiring.  The 
platform  was  large  and  high,  and  on  it  many  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  Conference — among  them  the  Eev.  C.  D.  Batelle, 
a  man  of  large  frame  and  stentorian  voice.  The  bishop  at 
length  announced  his  text,  and  himself  gathered  inspiration 
from  an  evidently  expectant  audience.     'By  faith  Enoch 


HOLDING    THE  HORSES.  199 

was  translated  that  he  should  not  see  death,  and  was  not 
found,  because  God  had  translated  him  ;  for  before  his 
translation  he  had  this  testimony,  that  he  pleased  God.' 
The  text  was  read  as  if  the  inspiration  that  was  upon  the 
writer  who  penned  it  was  now  upon  the  preacher  in  the 
nineteenth  century  who  was  to  expound  it.  "Without  hesi- 
tation, and  smoothly,  he  Avent  on  unfolding  its  treasures. 
Among  the  notable  passages  of  the  sermon  was  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  first  redeemed  sinner's  arrival  in  heaven.  The 
scene  was  dramatic  and  overpowering.  The  gates  stood 
ajar,  and  the  ranks  of  shining  ones  parted  that  this  one, 
washed  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  might  pass  on  up  to  the 
throne,  the  wonder  of  heaven !  Simpson  was  calm,  but  his 
whole  audience  were  moved  and  in  tears  as  they  saw  the 
sinner  going  up !  Just  then  Batelle  shouted,  out  of  his  full 
and  overflowing  soul,  '  Amen.  Let  him  go !'  That  out- 
burst was  a  relief  to  the  rapt  congregation,  and  enabled 
them  to  take  breath  again." 

Dr.  Rawlins  furnishes  also  a  reminiscence  of  a  sermon, 
preached  after  a  day's  travel  over  a  corduroy  road,  in  a 
broken  -  down  hack,  and  its  wondrous  effect,  in  spite  of  the 
preacher's  weariness : 

"  Once  I  was  in  company  with  him  on  a  church-dedi- 
cation occasion.  It  was  at  Corydon,  Ind.  There  were 
three  of  us  :  Rev.  C.  B.  Davidson,  the  Presiding  Elder  of 
the  ISTew  Albany  District,  myself,  and  the  bishop.  We 
were  in  a  two-horse  livery  hack,  and  had  a  wornout  cordu- 
roy road  to  go  over  in  the  month  of  March.  The  distance 
was  about  twenty-five  miles.  We  did  tolerably  well  in  go- 
ing, but  on  returning  our  hack  became  disabled  when  we 
were  yet  some  five  miles  out.  It  was  so  disabled  that  we 
were  compelled,  by  fence -rails  and  poles,  to  raise  the  bed 
from  the  front  axle.  We  unloosed  the  horses,  and,  as  the 
bishop  was  our  guest,  we  must  needs  assign  him  the  least 
difficult  part  of  the  work  to  be  performed.  We,  therefore, 
gave  him  the  horses  to  hold,  which  he  did  with  grace,  lean- 


200  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

ing  up  against  a  rail-fence !  We  bad  only  our  Sunday  suits, 
and  bow  to  keep  from  soiling  ourselves  witb  tbe  abundant 
and  cold  mud  was  a  question.  "We  divested  ourselves  of 
coats  and  vests  and  went  to  work,  and  yet  were  a  sigbt  to 
bebold  before  tbe  job  was  done !  Tbe  sun  was  sbining  in  a 
clear  sky,  and,  as  tbe  bishop  looked  at  us  in  our  bedaubed 
state,  be  seized  upon  tbe  fact  for  a  moral  for  tbe  occasion, 
and  said,  '  Ab,  brethren,  it  is  a  great  deal  better  than  if  it 
were  raining  right  hard !'  But  Ave  mended  the  back  and 
drove  on.  Among  tbe  familiar  questions  put  to  tbe  bishop 
as  we  rode  along  was  this  :  '  Now,  bishop,  we  know  you  can 
outpreach  us  all,  but  did  you  never,  in  your  younger  days, 
get  into  tbe  brush  V  '  Oh,  yes,  very  often.'  '  Well,  bishop, 
when  you  got  into  the  brush,  what  did  you  do  ?'  '  Oh,  I 
would  rub  my  hands,  and  say,  Oh,  my  brethren,  till  I  would 
see  a  way  out  or  make  one !'  We  reached  New  Albany, 
and  found  there  was  an  appointment  out  for  the  bishop  to 
preach  in  the  Centenary  Church  that  night.  It  was  the 
largest  audience-room  in  the  city,  and  when  we  entered  we 
found  every  available  spot  occupied,  and  with  the  elite  of 
tbe  city.  Despite  his  weariness — he  never  seemed  weary — 
he  gave  us  a  wonderful  discourse  on  the  text,  '  The  steps  of 
a  good  man  are  ordered  of  the  Lord,  and  he  delighteth  in 
his  way.'  The  next  day  the  most  eminent  jurist  of  the 
city  was  asked  how  he  liked  the  bishop.  '  Like  him !  Why, 
be  takes  possession  of  your  soul,  and  gives  a  man  no  chance.' 
i  Well,  but  isn't  be  logical  V  '  Yes ;  but  his  logic  is  all  on 
fire.     My !  wouldn't  he  take  a  jury  V  "  * 

This  power  over  men  by  simple  speech  remained  with 
him  to  the  close  of  his  life.  If  not  alwa}7s  exhibited  in  its 
fulness  so  frequently  as  the  years  went  on,  it  was  still  visi- 

*  The  same  thing  was  said  years  afterwards  when  he  was  engaged  in 
a  lawsuit  growing  out  of  a  will  in  which  he  had  been  named  as  one  of 
the  executors.  During  the  trial  Sunday  intervened,  and  the  bishop 
preached.  A  leading  lawyer,  a  judge,  said  to  his  brethren  of  the  bar: 
"  If  that  man  were  of  our  profession  he  would  leave  us  all  out  of  sight."' 


ffl  THE  TREMONT  TEMPLE.  201 

ble.  Probably  it  was  at  its  height  during  the  years  of  the 
civil  war — from  1861  to  1865.  It  burst  out  again  with  all  its 
old  energy  during  the  centennial  year  of  Methodism — 1866. 
The  Bev.  K.  H.  Howard,  of  New  England,  gives  some  rem- 
iniscences of  his  preaching  during  the  latter  period  : 

"  Not  all  his  pulpit  efforts  were  attended  by  marked  ora- 
torical results.  The  writer  has  often  heard  him  preach  when 
he  hardly  seemed  to  get  on  the  wing.  Though  always  able, 
eloquent,  and  grand,  a  stranger  would  have  hardly  been  led 
from  these  discourses  to  infer  that  the  preacher  was  a  man 
of  phenomenal  eloquence  and  power.  Yet  the  results  fol- 
lowing some  of  his  sermons  and  platform  efforts  have  been 
simply  overwhelming.  No  such  scene  of  wild  enthusiasm 
probably  ever  attended  the  delivery  of  any  lecture  as  at- 
tended Bishop  Simpson's  lecture  at  Boston  Music  Hall,  dur- 
ing the  war,  on  '  Our  Country,'  when  the  entire  auditory 
sprang  literally  to  their  feet,  swung  their  hats,  and  shouted 
until  they  cried. 

"  On  the  occasion  of  a  Methodist  Convention  in  Boston 
in  1866,  Bishop  Simpson  delivered  his  lecture  on  Method- 
ism, one  evening  at  Tremont  Temple,  to  a  crowded  and  en- 
thusiastic audience.  The  peroration,  which,  of  course,  was 
eloquent,  was  not  unnaturally  attended  with  fervent  Meth- 
odist responses.  This  seemed  to  stir  the  blood  of  the  orator, 
and  he  launched  out  on  a  few  extemporaneous  utterances, 
surcharged  with  magnetic  power.  The  whole  audience  sus- 
tained a  simultaneous  shock,  and  there  went  up  from  that 
vast  multitude  one  instantaneous  and  volcanic  eruption  of 
hallelujahs.  I  have  never  seen  the  like  on  any  other  occa- 
sion. I  had  a  vague  recollection,  at  the  time,  of  screaming 
myself,  at  the  top  of  my  voice,  '  Hallelujah !'  and  yet  my 
own  voice  was  utterly  lost  amid  the  grand  chorus  of  shouts 
that  on  that  occasion  made  the  welkin  ring  as  it  will  never, 
probably,  again. 

<l  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  no  sermon  ever  delivered 
in  this  country  was  attended  by  such  results  as  one  preached 


202  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

by  Bishop  Simpson  at  the  session  of  the  Vermont  Confer- 
ence at  St.  Albans  in  1S63.  I  have  often  heard  of  congrega- 
tions being  stirred  by  the  voice  of  a  speaker  as  by  the  blast 
of  a  trumpet.  On  this  occasion  we  seemed  to  be  trampled 
down  as  beneath  the  resistless  onset  of  a  tempestuous  cav- 
alry charge.  Strong  men  wept  like  children,  and  the  more 
hardened  worldlings  yielded  to  the  preachers  power  the 
tribute  of  a  tear.  This  sermon  was  delivered  in  the  Con- 
gregational Church.  The  next  morning  an  Episcopalian 
o-ood-naturedlv  rallied  the  Congregational  deacon  as  follows : 
*  Well,  deacon,  I  hear  you  had  a  bishop  to  preach  for  you 
yesterday.'  'Yes,'  replied  the  deacon,  with  great  energy 
and  manifest  satisfaction ;  '  yes.  and  a  bishop  that  was  a 
bishop,  too.' "  Thus,  as  we  see,  the  staid,  self-contained 
Xew-Englander  yielded  as  readily  to  the  spell  of  his  elo- 
quence as  the  more  demonstrative  native  of  Indiana. 

Sometimes,  too,  the  critic,  who  attended  his  ministrations 
resolved  to  observe  and  coolly  analyze,  was  compelled  to 
surrender  to  his  power.  The  Rev.  Dr.  H.  B.  Ridgaway 
tells  this  story  of  his  own  failure  to  maintain,  while  Bishop 
Simpson  was  preaching,  his  critical  attitude :  "  It  was  our 
good-fortune  to  hear  the  bishop  when  he  preached  as  our 
representative  before  the  British  "Wesleyan  Conference  at 
Burslem  in  1S70.  Bishop  Foster,  then  Dr.  Foster,  his  co- 
delegate,  said  to  me, '  Let  us  go  up  into  the  gallery  and  take 
seats  where  we  can  see  the  effect  of  the  sermon  on  the  Con- 
ference.' And  so  we  took  seats  in  one  end  of  the  deep  gal- 
lery of  the  old  chapel,  whence  we  could  overlook  the  plat- 
form on  which  sat  the  '  one  hundred,'  and  have  a  general 
view  of  the  audience.  The  preacher's  text  was :  '  But  none 
of  these  things  move  me'  (Acts  xx.  2-t).  I  do  not  remember 
the  order  of  the  sermon.  He  discussed  the  call  to  the  min- 
istry, gave  a  graphic  picture  of  Paul's  career — his  trials  and 
successes — pausing  as  the  apostle  was  confronted  by  each 
successive  conflict,  and  hearing  him  cry, '  But  none  of  these 
things  move  me.'    "We  followed  with  the  rest,  and  were  glad 


THE  BRITISH  CONFERENCE  AT  BURSLEM.  203 

to  see  that  our  great  bishop  was  carrying  the  British  with 
him.  When  his  explanations  were  well  through,  the  antith- 
eses and  climaxes  made,  suddenly  he  adverted  to  his  own  call 
to  preach.  He  depicted  his  youth,  his  orphanage,  his  long 
struggles.  Finally  the  Spirit  of  God  fastened  the  convic- 
tion upon  him,  and  now  the  difficulty  was  to  break  it  to  his 
mother.  How  would  she  be  affected  by  it  ?  Could  she  give 
him  up?  Could  he  ever  leave  her?  He  was  her  only  son. 
Approaching  her  one  day,  he  said, '  Mother,  I  think  I  shall 
have  to  preach.'  Without  hesitation  she  said, '  Why,  Mat- 
thew, I  have  been  expecting  this  since  you  were  a  child. 
Your  father  and  I  dedicated  you  to  God  when  you  were 
born.'  *  At  this  recital  my  heart  went  to  my  throat ;  my 
eyes  overflowed.  I  tried  to  hide  my  emotion  from  Dr. 
Foster,  but,  as  I  did  so,  I  glanced  at  him ;  and  he,  if  possible, 
was  more  overcome  than  I  was.  We  both  wept,  forgetful 
of  others.  We  also  had  fallen  under  the  spell  of  the  great 
preacher ;  this,  too,  when  we  had  meant  to  study  in  cold 
blood  the  secret  of  his  power  over  an  audience."f 

It  has  been  my  privilege,  in  recent  years,  to  visit  England 
several  times,  and  during  each  visit  to  see  more  or  less  of 
Wesleyan  ministers  and  laymen  ;  and  I  have  never  failed 
to  hear  something  said  by  them  of  the  wonderful  sermon 
preached  by  Bishop  Simpson  at  the  Burslem  Conference. 
He  had  been  in  England  in  1857,  and  was  there  again  in 
1881,  but  this  sermon  made  such  an  impression  that  he  is 
remembered  as  the  orator  who  so  mightily  stirred  the  hearts 
of  English  Methodists  in  the  year  1870. 

*  This  incident  lias  already  been  given  in  the  bishop's  own  language, 
p.  50. 

t  From  the  Methodist  Review,  No.  325,  p.  26. 


X. 

BISHOP  SIMPSON'S  THEORY  OF  PREACHING. 


Methodist  Preaching  the  Style  Adopted  by  Laymen. — Ridicule  by  Society 
of  the  Early  Methodist  Preachers.  —  Goldsmith  on  the  State-Church 
Sermons  of  his  Time. — Bishop  Simpson's  Theory  of  Preaching  Con- 
tained in  his  "Yale  Lectures." — Preaching  is  for  the  Common  People. 
— The  Minister  a  Connecting  Link  between  the  Rich  and  the  Poor. — 
A  Beautiful  Illustration. — The  Sympathetic  Voice.— The  Exhortation 
at  Lock  Haven. — Persuasion  rather  than  Instruction  the  End  of  Preach- 
ing.— The  Minister  a  Witness. — Extemporaneous  Preaching  the  Most 
Effective. — His  own  Mode  of  Acquiring  the  Power  of  Extemporaneous 
Address. — Bascom,  Summerfield,  Olin,  Durbin,  and  Simpson. — Durbin 
and  Simpson  Contrasted. — Examples  of  Durbin's  Electric  Power. — 
Account  of  the  Sermon  on  "  The  Victory  of  Faith,"  by  an  Editor  of 
the  Andover  Review. 


THE  SECRET  OF  HIS  POWER.  207 


X. 

"What  was  the  secret  of  the  extraordinary  power  in  preach- 
ing of  which  we  have  given  a  scant  account  %  To  answer 
this  question  we  must  go  back  to  quite  another :  "  What  is 
Methodist  preaching?1'  Shortly  answered,  it  may  be  said 
that  Methodist  preaching  is  the  style  of  public  speech  un- 
consciously adopted  by  laymen,  who  addressed  the  people, 
not  professionally,  but  from  the  impulse  of  overmastering 
conviction.  They  fought  the  schools,  which  had  gone  astray, 
and  overthrew  them.  Summoned  by  Wesley  to  the  field, 
they  doubtless  fell  into  many  blunders,  but  they  had  the 
capital  qualities  of  directness,  energy,  and  intensity.  Fortu- 
nately for  them  and  the  truth  they  served,  they  were  inca- 
pable of  writing  sermons.  Their  earnestness  roused  the 
anger  of  cultivated  society  ;  poets  and  essayists  ridiculed 
them ;  Cowper  retorted  by  ridiculing  the  fashionable  preach- 
ers of  his  day.  Goldsmith,  holding,  as  he  did,  enthusiasm  in 
religion  to  be  vulgar,  and  denying  to  the  Methodist  preach- 
ers common-sense,  notes  how  often  and  justly  they  affected 
their  hearers.  He  asks,  "  What  might  not  be  the  conse- 
quences did  our  bishops  testify  the  same  fervor  and  entreat 
their  hearers  as  well  as  argue?"  This  same  keen-sighted 
essayist  describes  the  common  people  of  England  as  being 
"  the  most  barbarous  and  most  unknowing  of  any  in  Eu- 
rope," and  charges  their  ignorance  chiefly  to  their  teachers, 
"  who,  with  the  most  pretty  gentlemanlike  serenity,  deliver 
their  discourses  and  address  the  reason  of  men  who  never 
reasoned  in  all  their  lives.  They  are  told  of  cause  and 
effect,  of  beings  self -existent,  and  the  universal  scale  of  being. 
They  are  informed  of  the  excellence  of  the  Bangorian  Con- 


20S  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

troversy  and  the  absurdity  of  an  intermediate  state.  The 
spruce  preacher  reads  his  lucubration  without  lifting  his 
nose  from  the  text  and  never  ventures  to  earn  the  name 
of  enthusiast."  *  The  war  with  formalism  raged  for  a 
century,  until  the  perfunctory  style  of  pulpit  address  dis- 
appeared. In  the  nature  of  the  case,  preaching,  as  taught 
in  the  schools,  will,  unless  carefully  guarded,  tend  to  be- 
come professional.  This  tendency  is  best  checked  by  the 
appearance  of  men  from  the  ranks  of  the  laity,  who  speak 
from  intense  conviction  and  bring  the  churches  back  to 
nature  again. 

That  these  laymen  were  led  in  England  by  trained  cler- 
gymen does  not  impair  the  truth  of  our  contention,  for  their 
clerical  leaders  had  themselves  been  driven  from  the  church- 
es, and  were  compelled  to  deal  in  the  fields  and  streets  with 
miscellaneous  crowds.  Audiences  on  foot,  with  neither 
roof  above  them  nor  walls  to  shut  them  in,  will  not  tarry 
to  hear  a  dull  sermon.  How  far  this  direct  method  of  ad- 
dress was  carried  into  other  than  the  Methodist  churches 
of  the  United  States  can  never  be  told.  We  do  know  that 
one  of  its  representatives,  John  Summerfield,  was  much 
sought  for  by  those  churches,  and  was  regarded  by  their 
young  and  rising  ministers  as  a  model  of  pulpit  excellence. 
James  W.  Alexander  calls  him  the  most  enchanting  preach- 
er he  ever  heard. f  And  yet  Summerfield  was,  as  to  training 
for  his  vocation,  merely  a  layman,  and  rendered  scarcely 
any  service  to  the  churches  as  a  pastor. 

To  this  school,  if  we  may  so  call  it,  Bishop  Simpson  be- 
longed, both  by  inheritance  and  by  the  manner  of  his  en- 
tering upon  the  ministry.  To  tell  the  secret  of  his  power 
was  beyond  even  his  ability;  neither  poet  nor  orator  can 
unfold  the  mystery  which  comes  the  nearest  of  all  we 
know  to  a  preternatural  endowment.  But  he  has  left  us 
in  his  "  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching "  an  account  of  the 

*  The  Bee,  No.  7.  t  "  Thoughts  on  Preaching,"  p.  147- 


BISHOP  SIMPSON'S  THEORY  OF  PREACHING.        209 

conditions  of  mind  under  which  he  worked.  He  has  set 
forth,  with  much  modesty,  a  theory  of  preaching— and,  as 
he  draws  from  his  own  experience,  the  theory  of  his  own 
preaching. 

And  in  the  forefront  of  his  lessons  is  this  one,  that  preach- 
ing is  pre-eminently  for  the  common  people,  and  should  be 
on  the  level  of  their  understandings.  To  illustrate  this  he 
refers  over  and  over  again  to  the  example  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles :  "  When  I  take  the  New  Testament  in  my  hands, 
I  find  the  Saviour  and  his  apostles  teaching  the  people, 
visiting  the  sick,  healing  the  wretched,  comforting  the  sor- 
rowing, and  being  much  in  prayer ;  but  I  find  not  a  single 
direction  how  to  write  a  sermon  or  to  read  it,  or  how  to 
manage  the  voice  and  the  gestures  so  as  to  be  accounted  an 
eloquent  orator.  They  had  the  truth  by  direct  inspiration ; 
we  must  study  to  attain  it.  But,  with  that  truth  given,  they 
seem  to  have  thought  of  nothing  but  going  forth,  burning, 
shining,  blazing  in  all  the  glory  of  a  gospel  of  glad  tidings, 
and,  without  one  thought  of  appearance  or  manner,  swiftly 
presenting  the  truth  so  as  to  touch  the  hearts  and  con- 
sciences of  the  people.  As  Christ  and  his  apostles  did  not 
dwell  at  all  upon  what  occupies  the  minds  of  so  many  young 
ministers,  so  I  fear  that  many  think  but  little  of  what 
burned  in  the  hearts  of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  .  .  . 

"...  In  the  time  of  our  Saviour  the  question  was  asked, 
'  Have  any  of  the  rulers  believed  on  him  V  and  under  the 
labors  of  his  disciples  it  is  said,  '  Not  many  wise,  not  many 
noble  are  called,'  yet  the  common  people  heard  them  gladly. 
In  the  Eeformation  the  masses  rallied  around  the  standard 
of  Luther  and  his  coadjutors.  ...  If  ministers  expect  suc- 
cess they  must  tread  in  the  footsteps  of  the  great  masters 
and  throw  themselves  fearlessly  upon  the  sympathies  of 
the  people.  ...  It  is  well  not  to  keep  in  mind  the  distin- 
guished men  who  may  chance  to  be  present,  but  to  speak  for 
the  benefit  of  the  masses.  Luther  said  that  he  did  not  think 
of  the  doctors  and  professors,  of  whom  he  had  some  forty, 
14 


210  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

but  he  addressed  his  sermons  to  the  masses  of  the  working' 
people,  of  "whom  there  were  some  two  thousand."  * 

In  harmony  with  these  convictions  was  his  sense  of  the 
importance  of  the  position  of  the  minister  as  a  connecting 
link  between  the  rich  and  the  poor.  He  looked  with  dread 
upon  the  fact,  daily  becoming  clearer,  that  a  wall  of  separ- 
ation is  rising  "  between  the  capitalist  and  the  laborer,  be- 
tween the  higher  classes  and  the  lower."  He  reminded  the 
young  minister  that  the  "  masses  generally  identify  the  min- 
ister with  the  higher  classes  of  society,"  f  and  warns  him 
never  to  give  the  common  people  reason  to  doubt  for  a  mo- 
ment his  sympathy  with  them.  He, believed  with  all  his 
soul  that  the  ministers  of  the  country,  by  winning  the  con- 
fidence of  the  poor,  will  control  the  solution  of  our  coming 
social  problems.  This  he  was  confident  they  will  do  not  by 
elaborating  theories,  but  by  the  force  of  a  genuine  sympathy 
with  men  as  men.  Lamartine  said  that  he  had  conspired 
with  the  communists  of  Paris  as  the  lightning-rod  conspires 
with  the  thunder-cloud,  by  drawing  down  innocuously  its 
threatening  fires.  So  Bishop  Simpson  held  that  the  min- 
ister is  a  bond  between  the  extremes  of  society,  and  that 
his  office  is  to  keep  them  in  peaceful  touch  with  each  other. 
The  question,  "  how  to  reach  the  masses,"  never  was  a  ques- 
tion for  him ;  he  sought  them,  loved  them,  and  found  his 
way  without  effort  to  the  inmost  recesses  of  their  hearts. 

He  completes  his  discussion  of  the  question,  "  Who  are 
the  special  objects  of  the  preacher's  address  ?"  with  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  illustrations  he  has  anywhere  used.  He 
appears  to  be  solicitous  to  place  his  view  of  the  spirit  which 
should  animate  Christian  ministers  in  such  clear  light  that 
it  cannot  be  misunderstood  :  "  On  the  ministers  of  our  coun- 
try, now  and  for  years  to  come,  rests,  and  will  rest,  a  fear- 
ful responsibility.  No  other  class,  I  repeat,  can  stand  be- 
tween the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  learned  and  the  ignorant, 

*  "  Yale  Lectures,"  pp.  260,  175,  191.  t  Ibid.,  p.  302. 


CONDESCENDING    TO   THE  LOWLY.  211 

the  virtuous  and  the  vicious,  but  men  divinely  sent  and  com- 
missioned of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  stoop  to  the  lowest  depths  of 
degradation,  and  yet  to  keep  themselves  unspotted  from  the 
world.  The  minister  must  ever  give  a  helping  hand  to  his 
brother;  while  he  looks  with  affection  on  the  wretched  out- 
cast struggling  in  the  mire  of  the  pit  of  degradation,  he  also 
looks  heavenward,  whither  he  draws  his  erring  brother  ;  and 
there  he  beholds  a  Saviour's  face  wreathed  with  a  smile 
of  approbation.  While  he  struggles  to  draw  his  brother 
from  destruction  the  Saviour's  hand  holds  him  and  draws 
him  nearer  to  himself.  It  is  safe  to  reach  out  one  hand  to 
rescue  the  sinner  from  the  verge  of  hell,  if  with  the  other 
we  can  grasp  the  hand  of  Omnipotent  love.  The  office  of 
the  true  minister  is  to  stand  between  God  and  sinful  man, 
listening  to  the  whispers  of  love  and  repeating  them  in  the 
ears  of  the  fallen.     How  deep  he  may  go  who  can  tell  \ 

"  I  shall  never  forget  an  exhibition  I  once  attended.  Short- 
ly after  schools  for  the  imbecile  were  commenced  in  Europe 
a  young  man,  moved  by  benevolence,  crossed  the  ocean  to 
examine  their  mode  of  operation  and  success.  Assured  of 
their  utility,  he  returned  and  commenced  a  similar  institu- 
tion. He  advertised  for  the  most  idiotic  and  helpless  child 
that  could  be  found.  Among  those  brought  to  him  was  a 
little  boy  of  five  years  of  age.  He  had  never  spoken  or 
walked,  had  never  chewed  any  hard  substance,  or  given  a 
look  of  recognition  to  a  friend.  He  lay  on  the  floor,  a  mass 
of  flesh,  without  even  ability  to  turn  himself  over.  Such 
was  the  student  brought  to  this  school.  The  teacher  fruit- 
lessly made  effort  after  effort  to  get  the  slightest  recogni- 
tion from  his  eye,  or  to  produce  the  slightest  intentional 
act.  Unwilling,  however,  to  yield,  at  the  hour  of  noon  he 
had  the  little  boy  brought  to  his  room,  and  he  lay  down  be- 
side him  every  day  for  half  an  hour,  hoping  that  some  favor- 
able indication  might  occur.  To  improve  the  time  of  his 
rest,  he  read  aloud  from  some  author.  One  day,  at  the  end 
of  six  months,  he  was  unusually  weary,  and  did  not  read. 


212  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

He  soon  discovered  that  the  child  was  uneasy  and  was  try- 
ing to  move  itself  a  little,  as  if  to  turn  towards  him.  The 
thought  flashed  upon  his  mind,  '  It  misses  the  sound  of  my 
voice.'  He  turned  himself  closely  to  it,  brought  his  mouth 
near  the  child's  hand,  and  after  repeated  efforts  the  little 
fellow  succeeded  in  placing  his  finger  on  the  teacher's  lips, 
as  if  to  say,  '  Make  that  sound  again.'  The  teacher  said 
that  moment  he  felt  he  had  the  control  of  the  boy.  He 
gained  his  attention,  and  by  careful  manipulation  of  his  mus- 
cles succeeded  in  teaching  him  to  walk,  and  then  to  read ; 
and  when  I  saw  him,  at  the  end  of  five  years,  he  stood  on 
a  platform,  read  correctly,  recited  the  names  of  the  presi- 
dents of  the  United  States,  and  answered  accurately  a  num- 
ber of  questions  on  our  national  history.  I  looked  with 
astonishment,  and  said  to  myself,  '  Was  there  ever  such 
patience  and  such  devotion  V  I  said,  '  Was  there  ever  an 
instance  of  one  stooping  so  low  and  waiting  so  long?' 
Then  I  said,  '  Yes,  there  was  one  instance — the  Son  of  God 
came  down  from  heaven,  laid  himself  down  beside  me,  his 
great  heart  by  my  heart,  watched  me  with  perpetual  care, 
infused  into  me  of  his  own  life,  and  waited  for  nearly  twen- 
ty years  before  I  reached  my  finger  to  his  lips,  and  said, 
'  Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant  heareth.'  What  condescen- 
sion !  what  love  to  fallen  man !  Christ  stooped  so  low — 
it  authorizes  us  to  stoop  and  wait  on  and  wait  ever.  Some 
of  these  wretched  ones  have  been  suffering  for  more  than 
eight-and-thirty  years,  and  have  been  lying  at  the  edge  of 
the  pool,  waiting  for  us  to  come  and  help  them  into  the 
troubled  waters." 

I  have  spoken  of  his  sympathetic  voice,  whose  tones,  with- 
out apparent  effort,  opened  a  way  to  the  heart  and  took 
full  possession  there  for  his  thought.  He  never  captured 
his  hearers  by  bursts  of  energy ;  least  of  all  was  he  ever  for 
an  instant  declamatory.  What  seemed  most  visible  to  the 
hearer  was  that  the  speaker  was  wholly  possessed  of  his 
theme,  and  yet  he,  it  was  equally  visible,  was  wholly  pos- 


HARMONY  OF  SUBJECT  AND  VOICE.  213 

sessed  of  himself.  Not  a  movement  of  hand  or  arm,  not  a 
tone,  exceeded  the  due  limits  which  Nature  prescribes  for 
the  highest  effects.  A  sort  of  rhythmic  barmony  was  kept 
up  between  the  subject,  the  feeling  which  it  awakened  in 
himself,  and  the  expression  of  thought  and  feeling  which 
he  was  giving  to  his  audience.  His  account  of  this  quality 
of  preaching  is  too  brief  for  our  entire  satisfaction,  and  yet 
it  runs  in  the  direction  of  explanation. 

"  The  voice,"  is  his  account  of  it,  "  should  always  be  in 
harmony  with  the  subject,  and  should  indicate  the  earnest 
love,  the  deep  solemnity,  and  the  ardent  zeal  of  the  preach- 
er. It  is  sometimes  called  the  sympathetic  voice,  and  seems 
to  blend  the  speaker  both  with  his  subject  and  with  the 
feelings  of  his  audience.  lie  stands  as  if  forgetting  him- 
self, and  tries  to  bring  about  a  perfect  union  of  the  subject 
and  the  hearers."  *  This  appears  again  in  his  definition  of 
unction :  "  What  is  usually  termed  unction  comes  from  a 
heart  filled  with  love  to  God  and  man,  and  a  voice  and  man- 
ner brought  into  perfect  harmony  with  that  mental  and 
spiritual  state.  It  is  impossible  to  convey  in  words  what 
this  harmony  is.  It  is  a  perceptible,  but  indescribable,  con- 
cord between  the  subject  and  language  employed  and  the 
tone  of  voice  and  sympathy  of  spirit  manifested  in  the  en- 
tire movement  of  the  speaker.  As  this  mental  state  is  kin- 
dled very  largely  by  prayer,  so  it  harmonizes  with  a  prayer- 
ful utterance  and  a  prayerful  spirit."  f  This  is  as  near  to  a 
disclosure  of  the  secret  of  his  power  as  the  great  master 
could  probably  come. 

The  harmony  between  subject  and  voice  he,  of  course, 
attained  without  conscious  effort.  It  was  remarkable,  too, 
that  he  who  drew  tears  so  freely  from  others  scarce  ever 
dropped  a  tear  himself.  His  eyes  became  suffused  with 
moisture,  and  glistened  with  that  peculiar  brightness  which 
the  moistened  eye  wears,  but  seldom  overflowed.     Once 

*  "Lectures  on  Preaching,"  p.  183.  t  Ibid.,  p.  109. 


2U  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

only  I  saw  him  reach  for  his  handkerchief  to  relieve  his 
e}Tes,  and,  horribile  dictu,  it  could  not  be  found.  lie  was 
at  the  time  in  a  conference,  addressing  the  candidates  for 
ordination.  With  the  utmost  composure  he  leaned  over  to 
the  secretary,  at  his  right  hand,  and  whispered  a  few  words 
in  his  ear.  A  handkerchief  was  reached  to  him  without  the 
movement  being  observed  save  by  the  few  who  sat  behind 
him,  and  the  address  went  on.  All  this  time  his  hearers 
were  in  a  tremor  of  tearful  excitement. 

The  most  extraordinary  exhibition  of  this  peculiar  sym- 
pathy which  I  ever  witnessed  in  him  was  at  our  church  in 
Lock  Haven,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  spring  of  1872.  The  Cen- 
tral Pennsylvania  Conference  was  in  session ;  it  was  Sunday 
afternoon,  and  the  ministers  of  the  Conference  were  present 
in  full  force.  He  had  been  ill  for  months,  and  was  wholly 
unable  to  preach.  Indeed,  at  that  time,  but  a  handful  of 
bishops  were  left  us.  Death  had  been  busy  among  them, 
and  the  strain  of  administration  coming  upon  the  four  re- 
maining was  too  much  for  their  strength.  The  sermon  of 
the  occasion  was  preached  by  another,  and  the  people  sat  at 
its  close,  half  hoping  (yet  doubting)  that  Bishop  Simpson 
would  say  a  few  words  to  them  before  the  service  broke  up. 
He  rose  from  his  seat  with  evident  effort,  and  repeated  from 
the  Revelation  of  St.  John  the  words :  "  I  saw  seven  golden 
candlesticks  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks,  one 
like  unto  the  Son  of  Man ;  .  .  .  his  head  and  his  hairs  were 
white  like  wool,  as  white  as  snow ;  and  his  eyes  were  as  a 
flame  of  fire ;  .  .  .  and  his  voice  as  the  sound  of  many  wa- 
ters. And  he  had  in  his  hand  seven  stars.  .  .  .  Write  .  .  . 
the  mystery  of  the  seven  stars  which  thou  sawest  in  my 
right  hand ;  .  .  .  The  seven  stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven 
churches."  His  theme  was  :  "  Christ  holds  his  ministers  in 
his  right  hand."  Briefly  explaining  that  he  was  unable  to  say 
much,  but  wished  to  address  a  few  words  to  his  brethren,  he 
proceeded  to  unfold  Christ's  supporting  power  as  imaged  in 
St.  John's  vision.     I  can  only  describe  from  recollection,  but 


ADDRESS  AT  LOCKHAVEN.  215 

I  well  remember  being  impressed  by  the  extreme  beauty  of 
the  exhortation.  As  he  proceeded  he  seemed  to  me  to  be 
taking  in  his  survey  all  the  trying  experiences  of  the  min- 
ister's life ;  but,  barely  suggesting  these,  he  led  his  hearers 
up  to  the  thought  that  Christ  holds  the  angels  of  the 
churches  in  his  right  hand,  and  that,  held  there,  they  shine 
as  stars.  As  he  proceeded,  the  languor  of  illness  fell  away 
from  him ;  the  sunken  chest  and  bent  shoulders  passed  from 
sight ;  the  pallid  face  was  lit  up  by  the  glow  of  his  feeling. 
But  the  eyes,  who  can  describe  them  ?  Moistened,  as  usual 
with  him  in  the  high  states  of  feeling,  they  appeared  to  be 
looking  into  infinite  distances,  as  though,  beyond  congrega- 
tion and  church,  John's  vision  was  palpably  before  him.  As 
he  saw,  he  reported  to  the  expectant  people  gathered  about 
him,  and  by  instinct  his  theme  came  forward  at  times  as  a 
refrain :  "  The  stars  in  his  right  hand  are  the  angels  of  the 
churches." 

While  thus  apparently  rapt  in  vision,  he  was  evidently 
conscious  of  the  presence  of  his  hearers  and  of  their  sympa- 
thy. Their  tears,  their  sobs,  their  ejaculations,  must  have 
reminded  him  that  he  was  in  the  midst  of  a  throng  whose 
hearts  were  wholly  subject  to  the  cadences  of  his  voice. 
They  saw  as  he  saw,  felt  as  he  felt,  and  were  lifted  up  as 
far  as  it  was  his  wish  to  carry  them.  As  I  listened  I  won- 
dered how  the  address  would  come  to  an  end  ;  it  did  not  end 
in  any  sense  of  artistic  closing.  The  voice  ceased,  and  the 
people  still  sat,  sobbing  and  ejaculating,  till,  by  slow  de- 
grees, they  came  to  themselves  again.  He  had  spoken  about 
three  quarters  of  an  hour,  and  in  that  time  had  wholly  car- 
ried his  hearers  out  of  their  ordinary  consciousness  of  them- 
selves. 

His  method  was  also  largely  determined  by  his  opinion  of 
the  end  to  be  kept  in  view.  By  one  brief  distinction,  name- 
ly, that  the  end  of  preaching  is  persuasion,  he  separated 
himself  from  a  large  school  of  sermonizers.  To  use  his  own 
words,  "  Persuasion,  rather  than  instruction,  is  the  great  end 


216  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

of  preaching.  Instruction  is  essential,  but  without  persuasion 
the  sinner  is  never  moved  or  saved."  *  In  order  to  persua- 
sion, he  insisted  that  the  preacher  should  be  a  witness,  and 
that,  as  a  witness,  should  be  capable  of  giving  his  personal 
testimony.  He  dwells  much  upon  this  thought  in  his  ser- 
mons :  "  A  man/'  to  cite  a  single'  passage,  "  might  have  ar- 
gued with  the  Jews  until  his  head  was  gray,  but  when  one 
stood  up  and  said,  '  One  thing  I  know,  that  whereas  I  was 
blind,  now  I  see,'  that  was  an  argument  which  they  could 
not  resist.  And  so  it  is.  We  may  preach  delightfully,  but 
can  we  testify  'I  Paul  testified.  When  he  stood  before  the 
Roman  governors,  he  told  his  experience.  He  knew  that 
what  had  touched  his  own  heart  would  touch  the  hearts  of 
others.  My  brethren,  let  us  go  in  like  manner  and  testify  to 
the  great  truths  of  the  gospel."  f  He  proceeds  still  further ; 
he  makes  this  the  chief  element  in  the  personality  of  the 
preacher,  which,  in  his  opinion,  should  be  exhibited  in  every 
sermon.  "  He  [the  preacher]  stands  as  a  witness  and  an  il- 
lustration of  the  influence  of  divine  power.  As  he  knows 
the  truth  of  the  gospel,  others  may  know  it ;  as  he  has  felt 
the  power  of  the  gospel,  others  may  feel  it  also.  He  tells 
them  how  he  was  moved ;  out  of  how  deep  a  pit  he  was 
drawn ;  how  his  feet  have  been  placed  on  the  Rock  of  Ages ; 
how  he  repented  and  believed ;  how  he  was  delivered  from 
tribulations,  and  how  he  is  now  filled  with  power  to  resist 
the  allurements  which  once  took  him  captive ;  how  that 
once  he  was  influenced  only  by  the  visible  and  earthly,  but 
that  now  he  is  under  a  sweet  attraction  of  the  unseen  and 
heavenly.":}:  The  personality  which  he  would  have  the 
preacher  throw  into  every  discourse  is  a  spiritual  personal- 
ity, and  this  he  regards  as  essential  to  the  highest  success. 
It  follows  from  these  principles  that  he  regards  extempo- 

"  "Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching,"  p.  174. 
f  "  The  Christian  Ministry :  Sermons,"  p.  76. 
%  "Lectures,"  pp.  1G7,  1C8. 


HIS  FACILITY  OF  EXPRESSION.  217 

raneous  preaching  as  the  most  effective.  For  this  will  best 
express  whatever  unction  the  preacher  has ;  will  best  create 
the  harmony  between  the  theme,  the  feeling  which  it  in- 
spires, and  the  preacher's  tones  and  action.  He  is  careful, 
however,  to  insist  that  this  direct  mode  of  address,  as  he 
prefers  to  call  it,  is  compatible  with  the  most  careful  prepa- 
ration. "  It  may  be  abused  by  ignorant  and  indolent  men, 
but  it  is  not  designed  to  diminish  the  necessity  for  extensive 
reading  and  careful  thought.  The  order  and  parts  of  the 
discourse  should  be  clearly  fixed  in  the  mind ;  illustrations 
may  be  selected  and  arranged ;  suitable  language  for  cer- 
tain portions  may  be  well  studied,  or  the  whole  sermon  may 
be  written  ;  yet,  at  the  time  of  delivery,  with  the  heart  full 
of  the  subject,  and  with  the  outline  clearly  perceived,  let 
the  speaker  rely  on  his  general  knowledge  of  language  and 
his  habit  of  speaking  for  the  precise  words  he  may  need. 
If  he  be  deeply  in  earnest  he  will,  as  he  proceeds,  feel  a 
glow  of  enthusiasm  which  will  give  warmth  and  vigor  to  his 
expression."  * 

As  to  himself,  his  power  of  expression  was  very  unusual. 
~No  matter  how  suddenly  summoned  to  speak,  he  had  apt 
words  at  command.  The  human  interest  of  every  occasion 
was  instantly  perceived  by  him,  and  out  of  that  he  readily 
drew  the  materials  of  discourse.  In  framing  his  thought 
into  speech,  he  was  aided  by  the  fact  that  his  thought  was 
never  recondite.  His  meaning  was  instantly  obvious;  he 
remembered  that  the  public  speaker  deals  with  the  ordinary 
experiences  of  mankind,  and  to  these,  as  they  are  known  in 
the  home,  the  school,  the  church,  and  the  state,  he  addressed 
himself.  If  ever  abstract,  it  was  in  pursuing  some  analogy 
between  the  visible  and  the  invisible  world ;  in  this  he  was 
aided  by  his  unusual  facility  of  illustration.  I  do  not  re- 
member a  single  nice  distinction  in  the  whole  range  of 
his  sermons  ;   he  took  the  leading  truths  of  Christianity 

*  "  Lectures  ou  Preaching,"  p.  173. 


218  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

and  exhibited  them  in  large  outlines.  Thus  he  was  dis- 
tinguished for  breadth  rather  than  depth  of  thought.  Be- 
fore the  people  he  was  not  a  miner  tracing  out  hidden 
veins  of  truth  ;  rather  he  lifted  them  up  to  his  own  lofty 
position  and  pointed  them  to  the  scenes  beyond.  And  in 
nothing  did  this  broadening  of  the  people's  thinking  show 
itself  more  than  in  his  habit  of  reminding  them  of  the 
thinness  of  the  veil  which  separates  the  seen  from  the  un- 
seen ;  one  world  where,  apparently,  there  are  two  ;  one  con- 
sistent movement  of  Providence  towards  a  definite  goal; 
one  life  for  the  believer,  though  called  here  and  in  the  here- 
after by  diverse  names ;  one  kingdom,  whose  duration  is 
eternal — these  are  the  truths  which  were  most  present  to 
him.  These  are  not  small,  not  superficial  thoughts ;  they 
are  the  greatest  with  which  the  human  mind  is  occupied. 
He  treats  them  not  speculatively,  but  biblically ;  not  as 
matters  of  purely  intellectual  apprehension,  but  of  trusting 
faith.  On  these  truths  he  had  staked  his  destiny,  temporal 
and  eternal,  and  he  called  on  men  to  do  the  same. 

But  how  did  he  acquire  his  extraordinary  facility  of  ex- , 
temporaneous  address  ?  On  this  point,  also,  he  has  in  his 
usual  modest  way,  but  satisfactorily,  given  us  light :  "  With- 
out any  expectation  of  its  influence  on  my  future  life,  I  ac- 
quired the  habit  when  a  youth  of  reading  aloud  to  my 
friends,  from  books  in  any  language  I  studied,  whatever  I 
found  to  be  either  very  beautiful  or  very  interesting.  Espe- 
cially was  this  the  case  with  the  writings  of  Xenophon  and 
the  orations  of  Demosthenes,  Virgil's  'iEneid,'  and  Fenelon's 
'  Telemachus.'  It  was  also  my  practice  for  a  number  of  years 
to  read  in  family  worship  from  the  original  languages,  thus 
accustoming  myself  to  instantaneous  choice  of  words  to  ex- 
press the  ideas  of  the  writers.  This  practice,  however, 
while  giving  me  greater  command  of  language,  may  not 
have  made  me  quite  so  familiar  with  the  idiomatic  structure 
of  other  languages ;  at  least  I  never  advanced  as  far  as  the 
sophomore  who,  descanting  on  the  study  of  Latin,  said  that 


CHOOSING   TIIE   GREAT  SUBJECTS.  219 

he  could  think  best  in  Latin.  I  confess  that  all  my  life 
my  thinking  has  been  in  English.  Another  method  is  to 
hold  personal  religious  conversation  Avith  individuals.  The 
process  of  explaining  to  one  attentive  mind  some  doctrine 
of  the  gospel,  or  urging  motives  for  immediate  personal  ac- 
tion, imparts  a  directness  of  address  and  readiness  of  lan- 
guage which  will  be  of  great  service  in  the  pulpit.  There 
is  philosophy  as  well  as  piety  in  visiting  those  who  are  sick 
and  in  prison,  in  going  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges, 
and  compelling  men  to  come  in  to  the  feast  of  love.  To  ac- 
quire clearness  and  beauty  of  language,  some  have  recom- 
mended the  reading  of  Cowper  or  Milton,  or  some  poet  who 
has  written  on  religious  topics,  a  half-hour  before  entering 
the  pulpit,  that  the  mind  may  be  carried  in  this  elevated 
strain  to  its  pulpit  work.  I  would  greatly  prefer,  however, 
spending  that  time  in  reading  the  words  of  Jesus  or  of  in- 
spired penmen."* 

Doctor  James  TV.  Alexander,  in  his  "  Thoughts  on  Preach- 
ing,1" speaks  of  ministers  who  "preach  twenty  years,  and 
yet  never  preach  on  Judgment,  Hell,  the  Crucifixion,  the 
essence  of  saving  faith,  nor  on  those  great  themes  which  in 
all  ages  affect  children  and  the  common  mind,  such  as  the 
Deluge,  the  sacrifice  intended  of  Isaac,  the  death  of  Absa- 
lom, the  parable  of  Lazarus.  The  Methodists  constantly 
pick  out  these  striking  themes,  and  herein  gain  a  great  ad- 
vantage over  us."  This  peculiarity  of  the  old  Methodist 
preachers  was  eminently  the  peculiarity  of  Bishop  Simpson. 
Kunning  over  the  list  of  his  published  sermons,  such  titles 
as  these  meet  the  eye :  "  The  Gospel  the  Power  of  God ;" 
"  The  Kesurrection  of  Christ ;"  "  The  Great  Commission ;" 
"What  Think  Ye  of  Christ?"  "The  Effect  on  the  Human 
Mind  of  the  Manifestation  of  God's  Glory ;"  "  The  Victory 
of  Faith ;"  "  The  Contest  for  Eternal  Life."  He  valued  the 
privilege  of  addressing  the  people  too  highly  to  waste  his 

*  "  Lectures  on  Preaching,"'  pp.  190, 191. 


220  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

opportunity.  There  is  not  one  in  the  many  topics  of  his 
discourses  which  does  not  touch  some  vital  part  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  suggestion  that  he  was  to  preach  merely  to 
entertain  he  would  have  repelled  with  scorn. 

Among  the  chief  Methodist  preachers  of  this  century, 
whose  power  was  proved  by  immense  followings  of  the  peo- 
ple, the  most  conspicuous  were  Bascom,  Summerfield,  Olin, 
Durbin,  and  Simpson.     The  first  three  were  born  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  last  century,  and,  in  the  period  of  their  high- 
est influence,  preceded  Bishop  Simpson.     Bascom  was  one 
of  his  teachers  in  Madison  College ;  Summerfield  had  died 
when  Simpson  was  quite  a  lad.     Olin,  too,  was  more  his 
predecessor  than   his  contemporary.     We  more  naturally 
compare  him  with  Durbin,  who  was  eleven  years  his  senior, 
and  with  whom  he  was,  during  the  public  life  of  both,  in 
frequent  association.     They  were  alike  in  one  particular; 
their  oratory  was  wholly  natural,  and  in  no  sense  the  prod- 
uct of  formal  training.     They  were  alike  in  choosing,  by 
preference,  the  great  themes  of  Christianity ;  alike  in  sim- 
plicity and  clearness  of  statement,  and  alike  in  the  frequent 
exhibition  of  dramatic  power.     And  yet,  though  each  was 
genuinely  eloquent,  they  differed.     In  the  delivery  of  Dur- 
ban's sermon  there  were  two  men,  wholly  contrasted  with 
each  other,  the  one  didactic  and  almost  dryly  expository, 
the  other  brilliant,  explosive,  and  at  times  overwhelming. 
In  Bishop  Simpson's  expression  of  himself  there  was  more 
unity.     If  his  sympathy  kindled,  and  it  almost  invariably 
did,  it  kindled  simultaneously  with  the  development  of  his 
theme.     When  in  its  greatest  force  it  glowed  as  a  pene- 
trating warmth,  and  left  the  people  subdued  and  weeping. 
If  he  went  beyond  this  he  led  them  to  rapturous  expressions 
of  Christian  joy.     Durbin's  great  passages  were  surprises, 
lio-htning  flashes,  and  in  their  suddenness  would  almost  lift 
his  hearers  from  their  seats.   When  inspired  by  high- wrought 
feeling,  some  of  his  strokes  of  oratory  were  so  daring  that 
the  critic  would  be  amazed  at  the  perilousness  of  the  ven- 


DUBBIN'S  DBAMATIC  POWEB.  221 

ture.  There  was,  however,  no  peril,  for  the  power  given 
him  when  thus  inspired  was  irresistible.  As  he  said  of  him- 
self, in  these  moments,  it  seemed  as  if  the  earth  were  too 
small  for  him.  I  recall  an  instance  of  this  power  exhibited 
by  him  in  one  of  the  years  of  my  student  life,  and  in  a  ser- 
mon on  the  Judgment.  He  had  been  dwelling  in  his  argu- 
ment on  the  point  that  penalty  is  proportioned  to  the  de- 
gree of  light  vouchsafed.  He  quoted,  in  tones  which  feel- 
ing always  gave  him,  the  words  of  Christ :  "  Woe  unto  thee, 
Chorazin !  woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida !  for  if  the  mighty 
works  which  were  done  in  you  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and 
Sidon,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and 
ashes.  But  I  say  unto  you,  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for 
Tyre  and  Sidon  at  the  day  of  judgment  than  for  you.  And 
thou,  Capernaum,  which  art  exalted  unto  heaven,  shalt  be 
brought  down  to  hell."  With  a  rapid  suggestion  that  we 
shall  be  judged  by  the  same  principles,  and  that,  if  we  fall, 
we  shall  fall  lower  still,  he  leaned  over  the  pulpit,  bent  his 
eyes  earthward,  and,  with  tones,  look,  and  gesture  which  are 
difficult  to  describe,  called  out :  "  Ye  inhabitants  of  Chora- 
zin and  Bethsaida,  rise  up  and  let  us  come  down."  It  was 
done  in  an  instant,  but  the  picture  of  the  falling  mass,  call- 
ing as  they  went  down  for  their  lower  places,  was  before 
every  eye  and  shook  mind  and  heart  with  a  perceptible 
quiver. 

Let  no  one  imagine  that  this  was  a  piece  of  art ;  it  was 
the  sudden  prompting  of  high -wrought  excitement  in  a 
speaker  capable  of  exhibiting  his  thought  and  feeling  dra- 
matically. Doctor  Durbin  once  said  to  me  that  in  these  ex- 
alted moods  which  expressed  his  greatest  power,  he  seemed 
to  himself  to  be  in  a  picture-gallery,  and  to  be  taking  down 
one  picture  after  another  and  showing  them  to  the  people. 
This  was  only  saying  that  in  such  states  of  mind  all  his 
thoughts  became  images.  Another  example  of  this  sudden 
expression  of  power,  belonging  to  my  college  life,  is  inefface- 
ably  impressed  upon  my  memory.     He  was  describing  the 


222  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

displeasure  of  God  with  sinful  men,  and  then,  with  a  quick 
transition,  turned  his  discourse  into  a  direct  appeal.  "  Sin- 
ner," he  broke  out,  "  the  wrath  of  God  smites  you ;  it  not 
only  smites  you,  but  it  abides  on  you ;  it  not  only  abides  on 
you,  but  it  grinds  you."  When  he  struck  the  word  "  grinds," 
it  was  in  such  tone  and  such  dwelling  on  each  of  its  separate 
letters  that  we  instantly  saw  the  mills  of  God  crushing  the 
doomed  criminal.  The  difference  between  these  two  elo- 
quent men  may  be  summed  up  in  saying  that  Durbin  gave 
his  hearers  sudden  flashes  of  that  light  which  "  never  was 
on  sea  or  land,"  to  be  followed,  after  a  brief  interval,  by 
others  just  as  sudden  ;  while  Simpson  fixed  the  thoughts  on 
one  object  and  poured  light  on  it  until  it  not  only  stood 
out  in  perfect  clearness,  but  was  invested  with  the  halo 
which  we  ascribe  to  whatever  belongs  to  the  supernatural 
sphere. 

To  the  student  of  oratory,  the  memorials  which  these  two 
preachers  have  left  of  their  pulpit  preparations  are  of  the 
profoundest  interest.  I  have  in  my  possession  a  collection 
of  Durbin's  skeletons  of  sermons,  comprising  the  bulk,  prob- 
ably, of  his  remains  in  this  kind.  They  are  in  the  most  pre- 
cise sense  skeletons,  mere  bones,  but  the  bones  are  all  artic- 
ulated, and  the  skeleton  has  feet  to  walk  with,  when  the  or- 
ator, by  the  magic  power  of  his  genius,  shall  have  created  a 
soul  under  the  ribs  of  death.  I  have  before  me,  at  this  mo- 
ment of  writing,  the  outline  of  the  sermon  from  which  I 
have  cited  the  striking  passage  on  the  wrath  of  God.  Its 
date  is  Carlisle,  1830  ;  the  text,  Matthew  xvi.  26  :  "  For  what 
is  a  man  profited  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose 
his  own  soul  ?"  Under  the  second  general  head,  the  loss  of 
the  soul,  comes  as  one  of  the  points :  "  The  actual  infliction 
of  misery  hy  the  visitations  of  God.  Enlarged  That  is  all. 
He  had,  doubtless,  the  vision  in  his  mind,  more  or  less  dis- 
tinct, of  all  that  this  reminder  suggested.  And  he  did  en- 
large ;  he  himself  was  enlarged,  and  his  audience  with  him  ; 
walls,  roof,  and  all  that  pertained  to  the  structure  we  were 


"  THE   VICTORY  OF  FAITII."  223 

in,  were  swept  away,  and  we  had  the  vision  of  the  things 
which  no  mortal  eye  can  discern.  This  hint  of  purpose  oc- 
curs almost  habitually,  sometimes  varied  by  such  forms  as 
"  enlarge — enforce  earnestly."  The  outlines  prepared  by 
Bishop  Simpson  for  his  preaching  are  of  the  briefest.  A 
narrow  slip  of  paper,  as  long  as  one's  hand,  is  the  average 
size.  Take  the  famous  sermon  on  the  "  Vision  of  the  Wa- 
ters," founded  on  the  first  part  of  Ezekiel  xlvii.  It  is  on  a 
sheet  of  ordinary  note  paper,  and  is  written  in  pencil.  The 
line  of  thought  is  traced  and  no  more.  In  preaching,  Bish- 
op Simpson  never  used  his  skeleton  ;  it  was  left  in  his  study. 
Doctor  Durbin's  habit  was  to  keep  his  outline  very  closely 
under  his  eye. 

I  know  it  is  usually  said  that  Methodists  are  quickly  sus- 
ceptible to  the  awakening  of  emotion,  and  that  their  stand- 
ard of  pulpit  eloquence  would  not  be  accepted  by  the  world 
at  large.  We  doubt  if  this  be  a  correct  judgment,  for  we 
shall  show  more  fully  than  we  have  already  that  the  power 
of  Bishop  Simpson  was  confessed  by  all  conditions  of  men, 
in  whatever  country  he  preached.  It  will  appear  too,  as  we 
proceed,  that  he  was  equally  effective  in  handling  other 
classes  of  subjects.  Meanwhile  we  will  close  this  chapter  by 
presenting  an  estimate  of  the  bishop's  preaching  by  one  of 
the  editors  of  the  Andovcr  Review.  It  is  a  critical  judg- 
ment, and  therefore  comes  within  the  scope  of  our  present 
discussion : 

"  Some  years  ago,  at  a  Conference  over  which  he  was  pre- 
siding in  a  New  England  city,  it  was  our  privilege  to  hear 
him,  and  to  hear  him  at  his  best.  His  sermon  happened 
to  be  what  is  generally  conceded  to  be  pre-eminently  his 
'  great '  sermon  on  '  The  Victory  of  Faith.'  Such  an  oppor- 
tunity rarely  occurs  twice  in  a  lifetime.  The  preaching  ser- 
vice had  been  preceded  by  a  '  love-feast,'  and  the  mental 
condition  of  most  of  the  vast  audience  was  both  that  of 
eager  expectancy  and  deep  spiritual  preparation.  When 
the  sermon  was  reached,  the  bishop  slowly  rose  from  his 


22i  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

seat  and  advanced  to  the  side  of  the  pulpit  upon  the  open 
platform.  He  had,  as  is  said  to  have  been  often  the  case, 
the  languid  and  exhausted  look  of  a  hard-worked  man.  His 
height  and  gently  stooping  figure  suggested  a  kind  of  scholar- 
like awkwardness.  His  features,  pale,  strongly  and  sharply 
cut,  but  by  no  means  classic  in  their  mould,  intimated  a  cer- 
tain strength  of  character,  but  nothing  more,  unless  Ave  ex- 
cept the  large,  firm  mouth  and  sensitive  lips  that  betokened 
the  orator.  The  e}rehds  drooped  slightly  over  the  sad,  al- 
most expressionless,  leaden-blue  eyes,  deeply  sunken  under 
his  broad,  low  brow,  which  wras  surmounted  by  thin,  straight, 
light -brown  hair,  slightly  tinged  with  gray.  The  voice 
began  in  a  thin,  husky,  nasal,  high-pitched,  and  an  almost 
feeble  tone,  uncertain  in  its  fibre,  and  unimpressive  in  its 
general  effect.  The  words  were  slowly  but  clearly  enunci- 
ated, and  yet  called  for  an  effort  of  attention  on  the  part 
of  the  audience.  There  was  little  in  the  appearance  of  the 
man  to  indicate  the  treasure  within.  For  the  first  fifteen 
minutes  a  stranger  would  be  likely  to  experience  a  sense 
of  disappointment.  But  the  eagle  was  only  reserving  his 
strength  for  an  upward  flight.  As  he  gradually  worked 
himself  into  the  heart  of  his  subject,  as  feeling  gathered, 
and  he  became  increasingly  sensitive  to  the  subtle,  sympa- 
thetic influence  proceeding  from  the  audience,  his  quavering 
tenor  voice  grew  penetrating,  resonant,  sympathetic,  and 
impassioned ;  the  stooping  figure  became  erect ;  expressive 
gesture  was  no  longer  restrained ;  the  dull  eyes  w^ere  kindled 
into  a  blaze  by  the  long  pent-up  fire  within ;  his  thoughts 
seemed  to  play  over  his  face  like  a  luminously  radiating 
atmosphere,  and,  unconsciously,  one  felt  the  force  of  the 
shrewd  description  of  a  famous  preacher,  '  the  ugly  man 
who  becomes  beautiful  when  he  speaks ;'  the  sentences  grew 
short  and  pithy,  and  were  uttered  with  an  incisiveness  and 
a  rapidity  of  enunciation  and  a  peculiar  stress  of  voice  upon 
the  final  words. 

"  "Whenever  he  touched  the  finer  chords  of  feeling  there 


A  DARING  ALLEGORY.  225 

was  a  thrilling  melody  in  his  tones,  like  the  native  music  of 
the  land  of  his  Irish  ancestors,  full  of  plaintiveness,  with 
now  and  then  a  kind  of  wailing  tenderness  of  pathos.  Soon 
rising  on  his  theme's  broad,  "wing,  he  struck  into  a  most 
daring  allegory.  The  Genius  of  Atheistic  Science  was  con- 
ducted over  the  vast  realm  of  things  visible  and  material 
in  earth  and  air  and  sea,  far  up  and  out  into  the  stellar 
worlds,  and  all  were  given  to  him  for  a  possession,  even  to 
the  most  distant  star  on  the  outermost  rim  of  the  universe. 
Then,  in  boldest  contrast,  he  graphically  pictured  the  Genius 
of  Christian  Faith  as  he  surveyed  his  sublime  inheritance. 
These  riches  of  the  material  realm — '  all  are  yours.'  He  bore 
him  aloft  and  lifted  the  veil  that  hides  the  gleaming  splen- 
dor of  his  inheritance  in  the  world  unseen  and  eternal,  pre- 
pared for  the  conquering  sons  of  God.  The  effect  was  elec- 
tric. Hundreds  shouted,  clapped  their  hands ;  some  rose  to 
their  feet ;  strong  men  and  women  wept  and  laughed  at 
once,  as  they  gazed  upon  the  vision  of  their  '  inheritance 
with  the  saints  in  light.'  It  was  preaching  to  a  full  orches- 
tra with  the  Hallelujah  Chorus.  The  flight  was  a  lofty  one, 
but  the  pinions  were  strong  enough  to  bear  the  combined 
weight  of  the  theme,  the  speaker's  emotions,  and  the  throb- 
bing hearts  of  the  audience.  Gradually  and  skilfully  he 
brought  us  back  to  earth,  and  traced  the  way  in  which  our 
sorrows,  failures,  and  secret  wrestlings  of  soul  were  prepar- 
ing the  crowns,  and  already  giving  us  the  earnest  of  the 
glorious  future,  and  clothing  us  even  now  with  the  garments 
of  the  children  of  light. 

"  In  order  to  estimate  the  great  preacher's  power  and  art 
of  public  address,  it  is  not  necessary  to  describe  the  character 
and  effect  of  other  specimens  of  his  orator}'-.  In  the  one 
effort  we  have  referred  to  may  be  found  the  salient  charac- 
teristics and  principal  elements  of  influence  in  his  eloquence ; 
it  was  a  perfect  type  of  his  best  manner.  But  to  gauge  him 
while  he  was  speaking  was  next  to  impossible.  The  critic 
was  insensibly  compelled  to  yield  himself  to  the  orator ;  he 
15 


926  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

had  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  think  of  more  than  one 
word — eenius.  But  in  the  cooler  moments  of  recollection 
the  student  of  the  bishop's  eloquence  would  find  that  its 
distinction  was  due  more  to  the  peculiar  combination  of  a 
profundity  of  evangelical  earnestness,  and  the  power  so  to 
communicate  his  earnestness  as  to  arouse  popular  enthusiasm 
in  evangelical  truth,  than  to  any  one  distinguishing  excel- 
lence that  separated  his  power  from  that  of  other  eminent 
Christian  orators." 

It  is  sometimes  said  despondingly  that  these  great  preach- 
ers have  left  no  successors.  We  doubt  if  that  be  true.  They 
will  always  have  successors  so  long  as  there  are  inheritors 
of  their  deep  conviction  of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  They 
did  not  live  in  the  dim  border-land  between  faith  and  doubt. 
They  believed,  and  therefore  they  spoke,  and  they  believed 
with  a  faith  so  intense  that  it  gave  them  no  rest.  What 
else  could  have  borne  Durbin  along,  through  years  of  ever- 
accumulating  labor,  from  1820  to  1872,  or  Simpson  from  1833 
to  1884?  Yes,  they  will  have  successors  so  long  as  they 
have  successors  to  their  faith.  Modes  of  address  may  change, 
and  natural  endowments  may  vary,  but  that  subtle,  inde- 
scribable power  which  leads  men  captive  will  never  fail  a 
ministry  speaking  with  the  consciousness  of  a  vocation  from 
God.  To  this  consciousness  co-working  with  native  gifts, 
and  helped  by  self -culture,  Durbin  and  Simpson  owed  all 
that  they  were. 


XI. 

DELEGATE  TO  THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE, 
1844,  1848,  1852. 


General  Conference  of  1844. — Diary  of  President  Simpson's  Trip  to  New 
York. — His  Weariness  of  the  Conference  Proceedings. — The  Case  of 
Bishop  Andrew. — He  is  Asked  to  Resign. — Dread  of  the  Effect  upon 
the  Country  of  a  Division  of  the  Church. — Position  of  Olin. — George 
F.  Pierce:  "Let  New  England  go."— Brilliant  Reply  of  Jesse  T.  Peck. 
— Constitutional  Argument  of  Hamline.— Address  of  Bishop  Andrew. 
— Bishop  Soule  Threatens  to  Secede.  —  Durban's  Reply  to  Soule. — 
Southern  Tact. — The  Protest  of  the  South  Read  by  Bascom. — The 
Reply  of  the  Majority. — A  Contingent  Plan  of  Separation. — The  Louis- 
ville Convention  of  1845. — John  C.  Calhoun's  Reference  to  the  Division 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — The  General  Conference  of  1848. 
— The  Plan  of  Separation  Repudiated. — Conference  of  1852. — Simp- 
son's Report  on  Lay  Delegation. 


THE   GREAT  DEBATERS.  229 


XL 

President  Simpson  represented  his  ministerial  brethren 
of  Indiana  in  three  successive  General  Conferences,  those 
of  1844,  1848,  1852.  The  first  of  these  authorized  the  divis- 
ion of  the  Church,  the  second  rescinded  the  "  Plan  of  Sepa- 
ration,'" and  the  third  pronounced  lay  delegation  to  be  inex- 
pedient. In  the  first  of  these  he  took  little  part ;  in  the 
second  his  influence  upon  its  most  important  measure  was 
decided ;  in  the  last  he  was  a  recognized  leader.  In  the 
General  Conference  of  1852  he  was  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Lay  Delegation,  and  presented  the  report  which 
postponed  the  consideration  of  the  subject  to  some  future 
time.  "We  would  naturally  expect  to  find  a  man  so  well 
fitted  for  leadership  a  conspicuous  member  of  the  General 
Conference  of  1844 ;  on  the  contrary,  he  does  not  appear 
at  all  in  its  memorable  debates.  He  writes  to  his  wife 
while  there :  "  I  am  in  delightful  obscurity."  One  rea- 
son of  this  probably  was,  his  temper  was  more  that  of  a 
diplomatist  than  of  a  debater.  Moreover,  he  was  one  of  the 
younger  delegates,  being  at  that  time  only  thirty-three  years 
of  age.  The  controversy,  which  largely  turned  upon  the 
questions  of  the  usage  of  the  General  Conference  in  the  elec- 
tion of  bishops,  and  its  authority  over  them  when  elected, 
naturally  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  elder  preachers.  Bangs, 
Olin,  Griffith,  Collins,  Durbin,  Finley,  Cartwright,  Hamline, 
George  Peck,  Jesse  T.  Peck,  Bascom,  Crowder,  "W.  A.  Smith, 
Longstreet,  Lovick  Pierce,  George  F.  Pierce,  "Winans,  Ca- 
pers, Green,  were  the  champions  on  the  two  sides.  "What- 
ever may  be  thought  of  the  measures  advocated  or  op- 
posed by  these  men,  there  cannot  be  two  opinions  of  their 
extraordinary  ability. 


230  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Bishop  Simpson  lias  left  a  diary  of  his  trip  to  New  York, 
the  seat  of  the  General  Conference.  Part  of  it  was  rough, 
and  in  some  of  its  aspects  amusing : 

•'  I  left  Greencastle  March  20th,  1844,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Simpson 
and  children,  about  twelve  o'clock.  We  travelled  in  a  three-horse  wagon, 
accompanied  also  by  the  Rev.  E.  R.  Ames,  Rev.  E.  G.  Wood,  Mrs.  Barns, 
and  Miss  Wheeler.  The  air  was  cold,  occasionally  filled  with  falling, 
snow,  and  the  roads  were  excessively  muddy.  Notwithstanding  these 
unfavorable  circumstances,  the  company  were  in  fine  spirits,  and  we  had 
lively  conversation,  interrupted  occasionally  by  the  fears  of  the  ladies,  as 
we  plunged  into  deep  holes  or  slid  upon  sidling  spots. 

March  22. — At  seven  o'clock  we  were  upon  the  way.  A  great  part  of 
it  was  cross-road  (i.  e.,  corduroy)  and  very  bad.  A  snow-storm  came  on, 
and  the  ground  was,  in  a  few  minutes,  covered.  It,  however,  entirely 
disappeared  before  middle  of  the  afternoon.  Without  stopping,  except 
to  warm,  we  forded  Sugar  Creek  and  Blue  River,  and  reached  Irvin's 
about  dark,  having  travelled  twenty-nine  miles — the  day  before  twenty- 
six.  Here  we  lodged  very  comfortably,  and  were  joined  by  friends  from 
Greencastle  on  their  way  to  Cincinnati. 

March  23.— We  started  about  eight.  After  having  travelled  two  miles 
Mr.  Ames  missed  his  carpet  bag,  which  the  jolting  had  torn  loose.  The 
wagoner  was  sent  back  to  find  it,  while,  to  save  time,  lest  we  should 
be  too  late  for  the  train,  Mr.  Ames  turned  teamster.  He  mounted  the 
saddle-horse,  which,  by  the  way,  had  no  saddle  on  him,  and  whose  back 
was  as  sharp  as  a  nor'wester;  his  feet  were  rested  on  the  trace-chains, 
for  want  of  stirrups,  and  a  large  beech  stick  held  erect  over  his  shoulder 
served  for  a  whip — and  then  the  wagon,  a  red  bed  with  a  white  muslin 
cover,  in  road-wagon  style,  well  filled  with  live-stock  and  lumber — all 
together  not  a  bad  subject  for  a  Cruikshank.  At  Columbus  we  took  the 
train  to  Madison,  and  at  that  point  a  steamer  to  Cincinnati." 

This  was  his  first  crossing  of  the  Alleghany  mountains. 
Arriving  at  New  York  the  day  before  the  opening  of  the 
Conference,  he  was  welcomed  to  the  house  of  Mr.  James 
Harper,  then  mayor  of  the  city.  "  To  me,"  he  writes  in  his 
narrative,  "  the  scenes  of  the  Conference  were  new.  It  was 
my  first  session.  It  had  pleased  the  members  of  the  In- 
diana Conference  to  elect  me  at  the  head  of  a  delegation 
composed  of  Ames,  Wiley,  Havens,  Euter,  Miller,  and  Wood 


WEARY  OF  TEE  CONFERENCE.  231 

— all  good  and  able  men.  Ames  had  been  one  of  the  mis- 
sionary secretaries  for  the  four  years  preceding.  It  had 
long  been  the  custom  for  the  delegates  to  select  the  general 
committees  on  which  they  would  serve,  and  usually  the  first 
on  the  list  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 
As,  however,  my  colleagues  were  all  older  men  than  my- 
self, and  had  longer  been  members  of  Conference,  I  gave 
to  them  their  choice  of  places — Ames  selecting  for  himself 
the  Book  Committee,  Wiley  Episcopacy,  and  I  the  Com- 
mittee on  Education.  Owing,  however,  to  the  excitement 
which  subsequently  followed,  the  Committee  on  Educa- 
tion met  only  a  few  times  and  did  very  little  business. 
Dr.  Bascom,  an  active  leader  of  the  Southern  party  and 
author  of  the  protest  of  the  Southern  delegates,  was  its 
chairman.  I  formed  a  very  pleasant  acquaintance  with 
Doctors  Paine  and  Pierce,  both  of  them  afterwards  bishops 
in  the  Church,  South.  There  were  two  subjects  in  which 
I  took  interest  and  on  which  I  offered  resolutions.  One  of 
them  was  on  the  exercising  of  more  care  in  the  examination 
of  titles  to  church  property,  the  other  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  to  look  after  the  preparation  of  historical  records 
in  each  Conference." 

In  his  letters  to  his  wife,  then  at  Pittsburgh,  he  repeatedly 
confesses  to  a  weariness  of  the  Conference  proceedings.  With 
regard  to  the  debates  upon  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew,  he 
is  reticent,  except  barely  to  mention  the  facts.  Under  date 
of  May  18, 1811,  he  writes :  "  Ames  is  talked  of  for  bishop, 
but  as  yet  there  is  no  telling  the  result."  In  the  third  week 
of  the  Conference  he  writes  thus  to  Mrs.  Simpson : 

"  We  are  in  the  midst  of  such  a  storm  on  the  subject  of  slavery  that 
everything  else  is  forgotten.  I  think  it  possible  that  we  shall  split ;  if 
so,  we  shall  only  need  one  bishop.  .  .  ." 

On  May  25  he  writes  again : 

"  Another  week  has  passed  since  I  last  wrote,  and  it  is  difficult  to  say 
how  many  more  will  pass  before  I  shall  be  able  to  see  you.     Conference 


232  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

has  been  engaged  nearly  the  whole  week  on  Bishop  Andrew's  case,  and 
in  all  human  probability  will  be  engaged  a  large  part  of  next  week.  I 
am  staying  with  Mr.  Harper,  the  mayor  of  the  city — a  very  pleasant  fam- 
ily. My  acquaintance  is  small  with  the  ladies  of  the  city,  whom  you 
mentioned  in  your  last.  Some  of  them  are  handsome,  some  ugly  ;  many 
are  very  amiable  and  accomplished,  but,  taking  all  in  all,  1 1  icmVna  gie 
my  ain  wife  for  ony  icife  I  see?  Perhaps  after  I  get  away  I  shall  be  glad 
that  I  came,  but  at  present  I  have  no  pleasure  here,  worried  with  the 
excitement  and  fatigue.  I  believe  a  month  more  would  destroy  my 
health.  .  .  ." 

"  New  York,  May  30, 1844. 
"...  We  have  now  been  upwards  of  four  weeks  in  session,  and  have 
done  about  nothing.  When  we  shall  get  through  Heaven  alone  can  tell 
— probably  not  under  from  ten  days  to  two  weeks.  So  you  must  be  pa- 
tient, and  well  you  may  be  when  you  remember  that  it  is  for  me  much 
more  disagreeable  to  be  absent  than  it  is  for  you  to  have  me  absent." 

The  events  of  this  historic  General  Conference  deserve  to 
be  dwelt  upon  from  their  connection  with  the  event  succeed- 
ing them — the  struggle  for  the  preservation  of  the  national 
union.  They  had  an  important  bearing,  too,  upon  the  life 
of  Bishop  Simpson ;  they  formed  a  part  of  the  preparatory 
training  by  which  he  was  fitted  for  the  service  rendered  by 
him  to  the  country  from  1861  to  1865.  He  was  a  witness 
of  the  first  breaking  of  the  bonds  of  the  national  union ; 
for  the  claim  of  the  inherent  right  of  slavery  to  go  any- 
where in  the  Church,  in  the  person  of  a  slaveholding  bishop, 
was  followed  by  the  claim  of  the  right  of  slavery  to  go 
anywhere  within  the  limits  of  the  nation.*  Mr.  Calhoun 
trod  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Southern  Methodist  leaders ; 
what  they  demanded  for  slaveholding  as  Methodists,  he  de- 
manded for  slaveholding  as  an  American.  The  schism  in 
the  Church  not  only  preceded  in  time,  but  led  on  to  the 
greater  schism  —  the  attempt  to  create  two  nations  out 
of  one.     What  wearied  President  Simpson  to  witness  was 

*  As  to  the  free  states,  it  was  asserted  that  slavery  had  the  right  of  protec- 
tion, when  it  was  there  in  the  persons  of  slaves  in  transit ;  and  as  to  the  na- 
tional territories,  that  it  had  there  the  right  of  undisturbed  occupation. 


THE   CASE    OF  BISHOP  ANDREW.  233 

the  preliminary  rehearsal  of  the  struggle  of  1801  to  1865. 
The  Northern  delegates  to  the  General  Conference  who  en- 
gaged in  the  debates  of  1844  knew  that  another  debate, 
with  far  other  weapons,  was  impending  if  they  failed  to 
save  the  unity  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The 
Southern  delegates  were  generally  prepared  to  accept  the 
ultimate  consequences  of  their  action. 

The  issue  before  the  General  Conference  of  1814:  is  thus 
stated  in  Bishop  Simpson's  personal  narrative :  "  The  main 
interest  gathered  around  the  question  of  slavery.  A  preach- 
er of  the  Baltimore  Conference  had  married  a  wife  who  in- 
herited slaves.  As  he  did  not  emancipate  them  while  the  laws 
of  Maryland,  with  some  restrictions,  admitted  of  emancipa- 
tion, he  was  arraigned,  tried,  and  excluded  from  the  ministry 
by  his  Conference.  He  appealed  to  the  General  Conference  ; 
the  Southern  delegates  were  excited  by  a  disciplinary  act 
which  they  thought  might  reflect  upon  some  of  them. 
More  interest  was  occasioned  by  a  rumor  that  Bishop  An- 
drew had  married  a  slaveholding  wife.  The  laws  of  Georgia 
did  not  admit  of  emancipation,  but  as  his  episcopal  duties 
carried  him  through  the  entire  Church,  and  he  could  choose 
for  himself  his  place  of  residence,  his  remaining  in  Georgia 
and  his  slaveholding  were  believed  to  be  a  revolution  of  the 
policy  of  Methodism.  In  the  first  case  the  decision  of  the 
Baltimore  Conference  was  confirmed  by  a  vote  which  was 
almost  sectional.  The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  addressed 
a  note  to  Bishop  Andrew,  asking  him  the  facts  in  relation 
to  the  report  of  his  slaveholding.  He  replied  in  writing, 
and  his  case  came  before  the  Conference." 

The  flood-gates  of  debate  were  now  opened,  and  never,  in 
the  history  of  our  country  at  least,  has  there  been  a  debate 
more  memorable.  The  participants  were  wrought  up  by  the 
sense  of  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  at  stake  to  the  high- 
est tension  of  their  faculties,  and  in  their  faculties  they  were 
richly  endowed.  The  possible  consequences  of  the  division 
of  the  Church — the  division  of  the  nation  and  civil  war — 


234  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSOJV. 

were  clearly  before  the  minds  of  the  speakers.  Between 
the  contestants  on  either  side  stood  Olin,  in  stature  and 
bearing  a  king  of  men,  his  head  Northern,  his  heart  South- 
ern, appealing  for  moderation,  for  delay,  for  whatever  this 
side  of  compromise  could  avert  the  catastrophe  of  divis- 
ion. Davis  and  Griffith,  from  a  Southern  Conference — 
the  Baltimore — offer  a  resolution  asking  Bishop  Andrew 
to  resign.  From  the  episcopal  board  comes  the  voice  of 
Soule  counselling  the  delegates  to  be  calm  and  to  avoid 
loudness  of  speech.  He  is  read}'-  to  be  "  immolated  "  on  the 
altar  of  Union,  but  in  what  precise  way  he  does  not  explain. 
Winans,  of  Mississippi — an  orator  with  the  air  of  a  back- 
woodsman— retorts  that  he  cannot  help  loud  speaking,  and 
is  going  to  speak  loudly.  He  is  calm,  he  tells  his  brother 
delegates,  but  it  is  the  calmness  of  despair.  He  is  the  first 
of  the  speakers  to  suggest  secession,  but  shrinks  from  pro- 
nouncing the  word.  Bowen,  of  Georgia,  is  bolder,  and  pre- 
dicts the  disunion  of  the  states  as  the  probable  result  of  the 
division  of  the  Church.  Crowder,  of  Virginia,  draws  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  dreaded  civil  war :  "  The  division  of  our  Church 
may  follow,  a  civil  division  of  this  great  Confederacy  may 
follow  that,  and  then  hearts  will  be  torn  apart ;  master 
and  slave  arrayed  against  each  other,  brother  in  the  Church 
against  brother,  and  the  North  against  the  South ;  and  when 
thus  angered,  with  the  fiercest  passions  and  energies  of  our 
nature  brought  into  action  against  each  other,  civil  war  and 
far-reaching  desolation  must  be  the  final  results." 

This  array  of  the  probable  consequences  of  the  decision 
of  the  General  Conference  must  have  made  a  strong  impres- 
sion upon  the  delegates.  None  could  declare  that  Crowder's 
forecasting  of  the  future  was  extravagant.  Bangs  made 
the  point  that  Andrew  was  elected  bishop  in  preference  to 
Capers,  of  South  Carolina,  because  he  was  supposed  not  to 
be  a  slaveholder.  Davis  followed  this  up  by  saying  that  he 
had  himself,  in  1832,  asked  Capers  if  he  could  not  in  some 
way  rid  himself  of  slaveholding,  in  the  event  of  a  nomina- 


"LET  NEW  ENGLAND  GO."  235 

tion  to  the  episcopacy.  The  resistance  of  the  South  to  the 
Griffith  and  Davis  resolution  had,  however,  had  some  effect. 
A  substitute  was  proposed  by  Finley  and  Trimble,  merely 
expressing  it  as  the  sense  of  the  General  Conference  that 
Bishop  Andrew  should  desist  from  exercising  the  functions 
of  his  office  till  he  had  freed  himself  from  all  connection 
with  slaver3T. 

Around  this  substitute  the  final  contest  was  waged ;  the 
South  fought  as  if  for  life,  the  North  with  the  conviction 
that  nothing  less  than  this  would  satisfy  the  churches  of 
the  free  states.  At  the  outset  one  misapprehension  had  to 
be  removed  from  the  minds  of  the  Southern  delegates,  name- 
ly, that  the  pressure  put  upon  them  was  prompted  by  abo- 
litionism, so  called.  The  delegates  on  the  other  side  took 
pains  to  show  that  they  were  acting  on  established  Metho- 
dist usage,  and  were  only  expressing  the  ancient  anti-slavery 
feeling  of  the  Church.  Olin  especially  labored  to  make  this 
point  clear  to  his  Southern  friends.  Yet  he  at  the  same  time 
declared  that  any  one  who  doubted  the  compatibility  of  the 
Methodist  ministerial  office  with  slaveholding  might  be  a 
very  good  man,  but  was  a  very  bad  Methodist.  He  did  not 
consider  that  slaveholding  necessarily  worked  a  forfeiture 
of  the  right  to  hold  the  office  of  bishop ;  avowed  that  he 
himself  had  been  a  slaveholder,  and  had  never  dreamed  that 
thereby  he  had  become  unfitted  for  the  functions  of  the 
Methodist  ministry.  Yet,  cherishing  these  convictions,  he 
was  in  favor  of  the  Finley  resolution,  and  advised  the  South- 
ern delegates  to  accept  it.  He  spoke  to  the  Southern  Metho- 
dists as  one  of  their  number,  but  with  a  knowledge  of 
Northern  opinion  which  they  had  not  and  could  not  have. 
Still  the  Southerners  were  unconvinced ;  even  this  passion- 
ate pleading  failed  to  move  them.  George  F.  Pierce  fol- 
lowed him  and  charged  all  the  trouble  on  New  England. 
"  Let  New  England  go,"  he  said,  with  vehemence.  "  She  has 
been  a  thorn  in  our  flesh,  a  messenger  of  Satan  to  buffet  us. 
Let  her  go,  and  joy  go  with  her."     These  last  words  be- 


236  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Celine  memorable,  and  provoked  Jesse  T.  Peck's  defence  of 
New  England,  for  happiness  of  retort  perhaps  the  most  brill- 
iant speech  of  the  Conference :  " Let  New  England  go,  no, 
sir,  never!  And  here  I  beg  to  say  that  our  Southern 
brethren  cannot  induce  us  to  use  such  language  with  refer- 
ence to  them.  Let  the  South  go,  no,  sir !  We  cannot  part 
with  our  brethren  whom  we  love  so  well.  True,  we  cannot 
compromise  principle  to  save  them,  nor  to  save  the  East. 
"We  shall  live  and  die  with  them ;  Ave  will  not  let  them  go, 
unless  they  tear  themselves  from  us  bedewed  with  the  tears 
of  affection.     Never,  no,  never !" 

By  this  time  the  Southern  delegates,  being  hard  pressed, 
had  resolved  on  two  points :  (1)  To  claim  that  any  censure 
passed  upon  Bishop  Andrew  was  also  a  censure  upon  them 
as  slaveholding  ministers ;  (2)  To  deny  the  administrative 
authority  of  the  General  Conference  over  Bishop  Andrew, 
while  fully  admitting  its  judicial  authority  over  him.  The 
last  stand  was  made  on  the  constitutional  right  of  the  Confer- 
ence to  deal  with  a  bishop  in  the  manner  of  a  principal  with 
his  agent.  Longstreet,  of  Georgia,  admitted  that  Bishop  An- 
drew had  offered  to  resign,  but  the  Southern  delegates  had 
refused  their  consent  to  his  resignation.  "  If  it  has  come  to 
this,"  he  said,  addressing  Bishop  Andrew,  "  that  being  con- 
nected wTith  slavery  disqualifies  you,  we  too  are  disqualified." 
Green,  of  Tennessee,  added  to  this,  that  if  Andrew  were 
deposed  the  preachers  of  the  South  could  not  serve  their 
people. 

It  must  now  have  been  obvious  that  a  clear,  dispassionate 
statement  of  the  constitutional  powers  of  the  General  Con- 
ference was  needed,  and  it  was  furnished  by  Hamline.  He 
chose  a  propitious  hour.  A  Sabbath  had  intervened ;  the 
surging  feeling  of  the  preceding  week  had  had  time  to  sub- 
side. The  overflowing  emotion  —  not  anger  —  which  had 
accompanied  the  first  opening  of  the  question  had  spent 
itself.  Conviction  was  hardening  into  purpose.  To  yield 
a  particle  seemed  impossible  to  the  delegates  on  either  side. 


ADDRESS   OF  BISHOP  ANDREW.  237 

In  view  of  its  constituencies  the  North  declared  it  could  not 
but  act,  the  South  that  it  could  not  but  resist.  There  was  in 
both  the  ingrained  Anglo-Saxon  reverence  for  law.  What 
was  precisely  the  law  in  the  case  ?  And  who  will  show  it 
to  us  ?  Hamline's  speech  was  like  a  cool  stream  of  north 
wind  poured  into  a  sultry  summer  atmosphere.  That  he 
felt  intensely  was  unquestionable,  but  his  argument  was 
wholly  dispassionate.  With  the  ease  of  conscious  mastery 
he  touched  the  vital  point  of  the  controversy — the  adminis- 
trative authority  of  the  General  Conference.  After  show- 
ing what  all  agreed  to,  that  the  Conference  has  legislative 
and  judicial  powers,  he  argued  that  it  is  the  fountain  of  ex- 
ecutive power  in  the  Church,  and  as  such  has  in  possession 
what  it  bestows.  The  argument  of  Hamline  must  have  puz- 
zled the  Southern  delegates.  Smith,  of  Virginia,  the  first 
important  man  who  followed  him,  scarcely  touched  it,  if 
at  all.  He  argued  that  the  adoption  of  either  the  original 
resolution  or  the  substitute  would  be  proscriptive ;  would 
be  a  most  humiliating  degradation  of  the  whole  Southern 
ministry. 

On  Thursday,  May  23d,  Bishop  Andrew  rose  and  ad- 
dressed the  Conference.  He  revealed  the  fact  that,  prior  to 
his  election  in  1832,  Winans  had  refused  to  vote  for  him,  on 
the  ground  that  he  was  nominated  as  a  non-slaveholder. 
As  to  his  own  connection  with  slavery  he  justified  it,  and 
called  himself  a  slaveholder  for  conscience  sake.  He  had 
no  apology  to  make,  and  would  make  none.  "  But,"  he 
added,  "  if  I  have  sinned  against  the  Discipline,  I  refuse  not 
to  die."  His  address,  while  very  positive,  was  free  from 
any  exhibition  of  dogmatism ;  indeed,  it  accorded  with  the 
amiable  temper  which  has  been  universally  ascribed  to  him. 
Winans,  always  aggressive,  denied  the  administrative  au- 
thority of  the  General  Conference  over  a  bishop.  The  Ken- 
tuckian,  Cartwright,  whose  strong  common -sense  alwa3Ts 
shone  through  his  oddities  of  speech,  replied  vigorously  to 
Winans.     "  If,"  he  said,  "  we  have,  in  the  economy  of  our 


238  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Church,  rules  and  regulations  by  which  we  can  manage  all 
the  officers  of  the  Church  until  we  come  up  to  the  bishops, 
and  then  have  no  law,  as  was  argued  to-day,  but  the  act  of 
expulsion,  we  are  in  a  deplorable  fix." 

But  the  end  of  surprises  had  not  come.  Bishop  Soule,  the 
senior  bishop,  had  prepared  one  of  his  own  for  the  Confer- 
ence. Rising  in  his  place,  he  repudiated  the  claim  of  an 
administrative  authority  over  himself  and  his  colleagues.  It 
was  clear  that  he,  New  England  born,  was  going  over  to  the 
Southern  side.  He  gave  notice  that  their  decision  would 
affect  others  besides  Bishop  Andrew.  He  was  even  then 
ready  to  separate  himself  from  the  Church.  "  I  am  about," 
he  said,  "  to  take  my  leave  of  you,  brethren.  You  must 
know,  you  cannot  but  know,  that,  with  the  principles  I  have 
stated  to  you,  with  the  avowal  of  my  sentiments  in  regard 
to  this  subject,  it  will  not  be  Bishop  Andrew  alone  that 
your  word  will  affect.  No,  sir !  I  implicate  neither  my  col- 
leagues on  my  right  hand  nor  on  my  left ;  but  I  say  the 
decision  of  the  question  cannot  affect  Bishop  Andrew  alone. 
I  wish  it  to  be  understood  :  it  cannot  affect  him  alone"  The 
Conference  had  thus  brought  before  them  the  prospect  of  a 
schism  in  the  episcopate. 

Here  was  a  situation  to  try  the  nerve  and  courage  of  the 
majority.  The  certainty  of  the  secession  of  the  Southern  Con- 
ferences, the  cleaving  of  the  episcopate  in  two,  the  possibil- 
ity, in  case  the  Church  divided,  of  the  secession  of  the  South- 
ern States  from  the  Union,  had  all  to  be  taken  into  their 
thoughts.  But  they  did  not  shrink  from  these  or  any  conse- 
quences, however  appalling.  A  duty  to  God  and  the  Church 
was  laid  upon  them,  and  they  did  their  duty.  Durbin  re- 
plied to  Soule,  on  the  afternoon  of  that  same  day,  in  a  speech 
of  most  telling  eloquence.  Rarely  are  points  more  skilfully 
taken  or  more  powerfully  enforced.  lie  showed  that  the 
Church  had  left  the  South  to  contend  with  slavery  as  it 
could,  but  that  the  North  would  not  have  a  slaveholding 
bishop  forced  on  it.     He  denied  that  the  Finley  substitute 


DUBBIN'S  BEPLT  TO  SOULE.  239 

deposed  Bishop  Andrew.  "  If  I  am  pressed  to  a  decision  in 
this  case,  I  shall  vote  for  that  substitute,  and  so  will  many 
others ;  but  if,  after  we  have  voted  for  it,  any  man  should 
come  and  tell  us  personally  that  we  have  voted  to  depose 
Bishop  Andrew,  we  should  consider  it  a  personal — shall  I  say 
insult,  sir  ?  The  substitute  proposes  only  to  express  the 
sense  of  the  Conference  in  regard  to  a  matter  which  it  can- 
not, in  duty  and  conscience,  pass  by  without  suitable  ex- 
pression, and,  having  made  the  solemn  expression,  it  leaves 
Bishop  Andrew  to  act  as  his  sense  of  duty  shall  dictate. 
And  now,"  addressing  himself  personally  to  Bishop  Soule, 
who  sat  in  the  chair  that  afternoon,  he  continued,  "  I  will 
take  the  excellent  advice  which  you  gave  us  this  morning, 
sir,  and  not  appeal  to  the  passions  of  the  Conference,  nor  to 
the  audience  in  the  gallery,  but  if  an  appeal  must  be  made 
to  any  tribunal  out  of  this  body,  we  are  willing  to  abide  by 
the  verdict  of  the  world  and  by  the  decision  of  a  far  higher 
tribunal.  There  we  shall  fear  no  reversal  of  our  action  in 
this  case.  Oh,  sir!  when  we  were  left  to  infer  this  morn- 
ing, from  the  remarks  of  the  chair,  that  the  passage  of  this 
substitute  would  affect  not  only  Bishop  Andrew,  but  per- 
haps others  of  our  bishops,  I  could  not  but  feel  a  momen- 
tary cloud  gathering  before  my  eyes  to  dim  the  clearness 
of  my  vision.  The  feelings  which  that  remark  excited  were 
not  likely  to  give  greater  freedom  to  the  action  of  my  rea- 
son, or  greater  precision  to  my  judgment.  But  strong  as 
were  and  are  those  feelings,  they  cannot  stifle  my  con- 
science or  darken  my  understanding."  Soule  was  effectu- 
ally answered.  With  the  high-bred  courtesy  which  never 
forsook  him,  Durbin  had  made  it  plain  to  Soule's  mind  that 
the  majority  would  not  flinch  from  the  performance  of  their 
duty,  even  if  there  should  be  a  divided  board  of  bishops,  or 
even  if  the  Church  were  to  be  left  wholly  without  bishops. 
To  show  his  pacific  spirit,  however,  he  offered  a  substitute 
for  the  Finley  resolution,  which  postponed  the  determination 
of  the  Andrew  case  till  the  next  General  Conference. 


2i0  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

At  this  juncture  Bishops  Soule,  Hedding,  Waugh,  and 
Morris  presented  a  paper  proposing  the  postponement  of 
the  subject  until  1848,  their  colleague,  Andrew,  limiting  his 
superintendence  during  the  intervening  four  years  to  the 
Southern  States.  It  was  seen  at  once  that  the  latter  part 
of  the  proposal,  inasmuch  as  it  localized  the  episcopate,  was 
of  doubtful  constitutionality.  Moreover,  it  was  felt  that 
such  distribution  of  episcopal  service  would  only  help  to 
consolidate  the  South  and  make  it  more  perfectly  ready 
for  separation.  The  paper,  Bishop  Hedding  having  with- 
drawn his  name,  was  laid  on  the  table  by  the  close  vote  of 
95  to  83.  The  subject  had  now  been  viewed  in  every  pos- 
sible light,  time  was  passing,  and  on  June  1st  the  Finley 
resolution  was  adopted  by  111  yeas  to  69  nays. 

"  "We  thought,"  says  President  Simpson,  "  that  this  would 
be  the  end  of  it ;"  but  the  end  was  not  yet.  He  affirms  in 
his  narrative  that  during  the  progress  of  the  debate  corre- 
spondence was  had  by  the  Southern  delegates  with  Southern 
politicians.  "  The  attention  of  the  nation  was  turned  tow- 
ards the  proceedings,  but  more  in  the  South  than  in  the 
North,  as  Methodism  at  that  time  had  more  friends  among 
the  public  men  of  the  South  than  among  those  of  the  North. 
Doctor  Capers  was  in  correspondence  with  John  C.  Calhoun 
and  other  Southern  leaders  who  were  watching  this  phase 
of  the  slavery  question  and  the  threatened  division  of  the 
Union.  The  delegates  of  the  South  in  the  General  Confer- 
ence were  more  shrewd  and  diplomatic  than  those  of  the 
North.  The  latter  felt  themselves  strong,  both  in  the  right- 
fulness of  their  cause  and  the  strength  of  their  numbers ; 
the  others  knew  that  they  were  in  the  minority,  and  resort- 
ed to  the  use  of  tact." 

As  a  specimen  of  Southern  tact,  President  Simpson  fur- 
nishes a  bit  of  his  personal  experience.  "  Doctor -,  after- 
wards a  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Church,  South,  frequently 
visited  at  Ma}^or  Harper's  and  talked  very  freely  upon  the 
questions  at  issue.     Near  the  time  of  taking  the  vote,  he 


TWO    GENERAL    CONFERENCES  PROPOSED.  241 

came  to  me  to  consult  upon  terms  of  educating  some  of  his 
near  relatives,  and  spoke  of  the  friendship  of  the  South  for 
the  North,  and  of  the  necessity  of  maintaining  full  inter- 
course. As  he  had  not  spoken  to  me  before  of  sending  his 
friends  to  Indiana,  I  feared  at  once  that  it  was  an  effort  to 
conciliate  me.  I  told  him  I  did  not  expect  him  to  send  his 
friends  to  the  university.  He  colored,  and  asked  why  not. 
I  simply  replied  that  it  was  far  from  their  homes ;  other 
institutions  were  nearer  and  easier  of  access.  The  conversa- 
tion at  once  ceased,  and  I  heard  no  more  of  the  students." 

The  decisive  vote  was  taken  on  Saturday,  June  1st.  How 
much  did  it  mean  ?  "Was  it  advice  or  command  ?  That  it 
implied  a  censure  no  one  could  doubt,  for  it  said  that  Bishop 
Andrew  had  made  himself,  for  the  time  being,  an  unaccept- 
able bishop.  Should  this  bishop  any  more  perform  episco- 
pal functions  ?  Should  he  be  provided  with  the  usual  sup- 
port ?  Should  his  name  appear  on  those  documents,  such  as 
the  preface  to  the  hymn-book,  which  the  bishops  then  signed 
and  still  sign  jointly  ?  The  Conference  answered  these  ques- 
tions explicitly.  He  was  still  a  bishop;  his  support  was  still 
to  be  provided  for;  he  was  still  to  be  a  joint  signer  of  epis- 
copal documents.  Whether  he  performed  episcopal  duty  or 
not  was  to  be  left  to  his  own  judgment.  A  gentler  sentence 
of  disapproval  could  hardly  be  expressed  in  words.  Every 
concession  but  one  was  made ;  that,  however,  was  the  vital 
one — the  admission  of  slaveholding  of  the  episcopate. 

On  Monday,  June  3,  Capers  offered  a  series  of  resolutions 
proposing  two  General  Conferences,  one  Northern  the  oth- 
er Southern,  with  power  granted  to  each  to  elect  its  own 
bishops,  the  book-publishing  property  to  remain  apart  for 
the  benefit  of  both.  Those  who  remember  John  C.  Cal- 
houn's proposal  of  a  dual  executive  of  the  United  States,  one 
for  the  North  and  one  for  the  South,  will  see  the  resem- 
blance between  the  two  schemes.  To  consider  the  resolu- 
tions of  Capers  the  famous  committee  of  nine  was  created. 
Two  days  later  the  Southern  delegates  made  a  declaration 
16 


242  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

in  form  that  the  proceedings  against  Bishop  Andrew,  which 
they  considered  a  virtual  suspension  of  him  from  office, 
made  it  impracticable  for  them  to  continue  their  ministry 
and  at  the  same  time  remain  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
General  Conference. 

Events  now  hurried  forward.  Bascom,  in  behalf  of  his 
Southern  co-delegates,  read  a  protest  against  the  proceed- 
ings in  the  case  of  the  bishop,  insisting  again  that  these 
were  extra-judicial,  and  mandatory  in  fact  if  not  in  form.  A 
committee,  of  which  Durbin  was  the  head,  replied  to  the 
protest,  rehearsing  the  facts  and  law  of  the  case,  as  under- 
stood by  the  majority,  with  great  vigor.  But  what  a  situ- 
ation !  The  New-Yorker,  Bascom,  Northern  born  and  bred, 
a  son  of  the  Pittsburgh  Conference,  leads  the  Southern 
wing  of  the  Church ;  the  Kentuckian,  Durbin,  whose  boy- 
hood and  early  manhood  had  been  spent  in  the  midst  of 
slavery,  voices  the  "  Thus  far  and  no  farther  "  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference.  Both  were  among  the  foremost  orators 
of  their  generation  ;  both  were  gifted  with  extraordinary 
powers  of  persuasion.  What  a  mockery  of  men !  Surely 
destiny  is  sporting  with  and  laughing  at  them !  Rather 
what  an  example  of  the  power  of  our  associations  over  our 
opinions,  and  what  a  lesson  in  charity  for  all  of  us  ! 

As  Durbin  proceeded  in  the  reading  of  the  reply  of  the 
majority  to  the  protest  of  the  Southern  delegates,  the  slant 
rays  of  the  sun  shone  through  the  western  windows  of  the 
Old  Greene  Street  Church,  in  which  the  sessions  were  held. 
Just  as  he  closed  the  sun  went  down,  leaving  the  room  where 
the  delegates  were  sitting  in  deep  shadow.  The  moment 
the  last  words  were  pronounced,  Capers  rose  from  his  seat 
and  advanced  rapidly  towards  Durbin,  exclaiming,  "  Then 
there  is  no  hope !"  No  hope,  no  hope !  The  fabric  built 
by  the  toils  of  the  fathers  and  the  equal  toils  of  their  sons 
was  about  to  be  riven  asunder,  and  a  still  greater  catastro- 
phe was  to  come.  A  plan  of  separation,  if  the  contingency 
of  separation  should  occur,  was  provided,  and  the  delegates 


AT  THE  SOUTHERN  METHODIST  CONVENTION.      243 

went  to  their  homes,  saddened  by  the  thought  of  what  was 
yet  to  be. 

"  Before  the  close  of  the  Conference,"  says  Bishop  Simp- 
son's narrative, "  a  number  of  the  delegates  who  had  voted 
for  the  plan  of  separation  deeply  regretted  their  action  when 
they  saw  the  leaders  of  the  South  were  determined  to  pro- 
duce the  separation  at  all  hazards."  They  regretted  their 
action  still  more  when  they  conferred  with  their  people  and 
found  that  while  their  resistance  to  the  bringing  of  slave- 
holding  into  the  episcopate  was  approved,  their  sanction  of 
a  plan  of  separation  was  condemned. 

The  firm  position  taken  by  President  Simpson  and  the 
Indiana  delegation  in  this  General  Conference  led  to  a  cor- 
respondence between  him  and  the  Church  leaders  of  the 
Eastern  States.  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond  writes,  soon  after  its 
adjournment,  to  inquire  about  the  attitude  of  the  West.  His 
letter  shows  a  clear  prevision  of  coming  events :  "  Slavery 
will  die  hard  wherever  it  has  foothold,  and  will  not  be  con- 
tent to  act  on  the  defensive.  It  will  contend,  both  in  Church 
and  State,  not  only  for  perpetuation,  but  for  extension.  Over 
its  perpetuation  the  Church  has  no  control ;  but  against  its 
propagation  into  other  Conferences  than  those  where  it  has 
already  fastened  itself,  we  must  contend  in  the  fear,  and  with 
the  assurance  of  the  favor,  of  God."  Durbin  writes :  "  I  am 
now  satisfied  that  the  South  will  separate,  unless  the  ques- 
tion take  a  political  turn  and  alarm  them — provided  they 
object  to  the  division  of  the  Union.  ...  I  fear  most  of  all 
the  effect  of  this  movement  on  the  Union.  I  see  it  has  al- 
ready been  the  subject  of  resolutions  at  political  meetings." 

In  the  spring  of  1845  President  Simpson  visited  the  Con- 
vention of  Southern  Methodist  Ministers,  held  in  Louisville, 
which  organized  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and 
writes  thus  of  it  to  Mrs.  Simpson :  "  I  learn  that  seventeen 
brethren  of  the  Kentucky  Conference  have  declared  them- 
selves openly  Northern  men,  and  a  number  are  undecided ; 
that  an  effort  will  be  made  to  postpone  action  until  the  next 


244  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

General  Conference,  and  that  Northern  men  may  make 
terms  of  compromise,  etc.  If  any  effort  should  be  made  to 
get  Northern  men  to  pledge  themselves,  my  stay  at  Louis- 
ville will  be  very  short,  as  I  shall  compromise  nothing  by 
any  act  or  word  of  mine." 

He  writes  again  on  May  7th :  "  Division  is  inevitable. 
Bishop  Soule  presides  in  the  convention  and  leads  the  South. 
Warm  speeches  are  made  from  day  to  day  to  convert  the 
people  of  Louisville,  who  are  yet  halting  between  two  opin- 
ions. On  the  whole  the  South  will  go  pretty  much  en  masse, 
and  slavery  will  be  the  cause  of  ultimately  severing  the 
Union  as  well  as  the  Church.  "Winans  avows  that  if  voting 
for  dividing  the  Church  should  divide  the  Union,  he  would 
still  do  it." 

How  far  the  report  of  a  correspondence  between  John 
C.  Calhoun  and  the  Southern  leaders  in  the  General  Confer- 
ence was  true,  we  have  now  no  means  of  knowing.  In  his 
speech  to  the  Senate,  March  4, 1850,  he  notices  the  division 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the  probable  effect 
of  it  on  the  integrity  of  the  national  union.  He  was  close- 
ly watching  the  rupture  of  ecclesiastical  bonds,  both  Metho- 
dist and  others ;  but  he  had  the  sagacity  to  perceive  that 
the  dissolution  of  the  Union  would  be  a  gradual  process. 
Dwelling  on  this  thought,  he  said :  "  It  is  a  great  mistake 
to  suppose  that  disunion  can  be  effected  by  a  single  blow. 
The  cords  which  bind  these  states  together  are  too  numer- 
ous and  powerful  for  that.  Disunion  must  be  the  work  of 
time.  It  is  only  through  a  long  process  and  successively 
that  the  cords  can  be  snapped,  until  the  whole  fabric  falls 
asunder.  Already  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  has 
snapped  some  of  the  most  important,  as  I  shall  proceed  to 
show.  .  .  .  The  strong  ties  which  held  each  denomination 
together  formed  a  strong  cord  to  hold  the  whole  Union  to- 
gether ;  but,  powerful  as  they  are,  they  have  not  been  able 
to  resist  the  explosive  effect  of  the  slavery  agitation.  The 
first  of  these  cords  which  snapped  was  that  of  the  powerful 


THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE  OF  1848.  245 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  numerous  and  strong 
ties  which  held  it  together  are  all  broke  and  its  unity  gone. 
They  now  form  separate  churches,  and  instead  of  the  feeling 
of  attachment  and  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  whole 
Church  which  was  formerly  felt,  they  are  now  arrayed  into 
two  hostile  bodies,  engaged  in  litigation  about  what  was 
formerly  their  common  property."  * 

This  declaration  is  in  harmony  with  Mr.  Calhoun's  well- 
known  opinions.  In  1847,  two  years  after  the  holding  of 
the  Louisville  Convention,  which,  as  we  have  said,  organized 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  he  introduced  into 
the  Senate  his  well-known  resolution  denying  the  right  of 
Congress  to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  territories.  He  claimed 
that  the  equality  of  the  states  with  each  other  included  in 
it  the  right  of  the  Southerner  to  carry  slavery  into  any  part 
of  the  national  domain :  "  I  say  for  one,  I  would  rather  meet 
any  extremity  upon  earth  than  give  up  one  inch  of  our 
equality  ;  one  inch  of  Avhat  belongs  to  us  as  members  of  this 
great  republic."  f 

Tims  the  Southern  Methodist  leaders  and  the  Southern 
statesmen  were  moving  on  parallel  lines ;  the  first  demand- 
ing the  sanction  of  slaveholding  by  its  introduction  into  a 
national  (as  distinguished  from  a  diocesan)  episcopate ;  the 
other  the  sanction  of  the  system  of  slavery  by  extending  to 
all  the  national  territories  Southern  municipal  law. 

In  the  General  Conference  of  1S48  President  Simpson 
proved  himself  to  be  a  most  influential  delegate.  He  was 
no  longer  "  in  delightful  obscurity."  The  great  debates 
were  over,  and  he  found  himself  more  congenially  occupied 
as  a  man  of  affairs.  There  was  something  to  be  done,  as 
well  as  something  to  be  said.  The  South  had  separated, 
carrying  off  with  it  Bishops  Soule  and  Andrew.  Its  first 
General  Conference  had  been  held  in  1846.     Its  fraternal 


*  See  Benton's  "Thirty  Years'  View,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  745,  746. 
t  See  ibid.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  69G. 


9J.6  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

delegate  was  at  the  door  of  the  General  Conference  of  the 
old  Church  waiting  for  admission.  Meanwhile  a  great  re- 
vulsion of  feeling  had  swept  over  the  Methodist  churches  of 
the  ^Northern  and  Middle  States.  They  looked  with  alarm 
upon  the  prospect  of  a  division  of  American  Methodism,  and 
had  refused  all  sanction  of  the  plan  of  separation.  The  plan 
itself  was  voted  down  almost  unanimously  in  the  Annual 
Conferences,  then,  as  now,  composed  of  ministers  only.  The 
authority  of  the  General  Conference  to  enact  such  a  plan 
was  denied.  It  was  said,  very  truly,  that  no  Church  pro- 
vided, or  could,  in  its  organic  law,  provide,  for  its  own  dis- 
solution. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  the  purport  of  the  plan  itself  was  a 
subject  of  controversy.  Some  contended  that  it  was  never 
designed  to  be  a  scheme  of  separation,  in  any  sense  what- 
ever, and  pointed  to  the  fact  that  it  was  not  so  named  in 
the  General  Conference  of  1844.*  They  quoted,  with  tell- 
ing effect,  the  words  of  the  Rev.  Doctor,  afterwards  Bishop, 
Paine,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  nine  from  whom 
the  plan  came.  He  had  said  in  1844 : "  If  on  arriving  home, 
in  order  to  keep  down  faction  and  prosecute  the  great  end 
of  the  Methodist  ministry,  the  Southern  delegates  find  it 
necessary  to  act  upon  this  measure,  they  should  feel  bound 
to  do  it ;  and  out  of  love  to  Methodist  doctrines  and  institu- 
tions, to  the  souls  of  men,  and  the  honor  of  their  common 
Master,  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  enactment.  But 
they  would  not  thus  act  unless  driven  to  it.  The  separation 
would  not  be  effected  by  the  passage  of  these  resolutions 
through  the  General  Conference.  They  must  pass  the  An- 
nual Conferences,  beginning  at  New  York,  and  when  they 
came  round  to  the  South  the  preachers  there  would  think 
and  deliberate  and  feel  the  pulse  of  public  sentiment  and  of 


*  The  report  of  the  committee  of  nine  was  called  "A  Report  on  the 
Declaration  of  the  Delegates  from  the  Conferences  in  the  Slavehokling 
States." 


TEMPER   OF  THE  CONFERENCE  OF  1848.  24.7 

the  members  of  the  Church,  and  act  in  the  fear  of  God  and 
with  a  single  eye  for  his  glory." 

Under  these  circumstances  the  General  Conference  of 
1848  met  in  a  state  of  mind  which  might  be  very  moderate- 
ly described  as  bordering  on  exasperation.  The  forms  of 
courtesy  were,  however,  carefully  observed.  Immediately 
upon  its  assembling,  Dr.  Simpson,  with  Dr.  Durbin,  offered 
a  resolution  appointing  a  committee  of  two  from  each  Con- 
ference, to  be  known  as  the  committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Church.  He  was  not,  however,  made  a  member  of  this 
committee.*  In  due  time  its  report  was  ready.  Its  declara- 
tions of  a  want  of  power  in  the  General  Conference  to  divide 
the  Church  were  quickly  passed,  but  when  the  statement  of 
the  reasons  for  discarding  the  "  Plan  of  Separation  "  was 
reached,  the  Conference  faltered,  and,  after  some  contention, 
another  statement  prepared  by  President  Simpson  was  ac- 
cepted and  carried  almost  unanimously.  To  him,  therefore, 
with  Dr.  Durbin,  belongs  the  distinction  of  framing  the  dec- 
laration on  which  the  Church  planted  itself  in  its  long  con- 
flict with  Southern  Methodism.f 

"  At  this  General  Conference,"  says  the  bishop's  record  of 
it,  "  an  important  step  was  taken  to  organize  a  Pacific  Con- 

*  The  two  members  from  each  Annual  Conference  were  elected  by  the 
delegates  of  that  Conference. 

t  The  points  of  this  declaration  were :  (1)  The  report  of  the  commit- 
tee of  nine,  adopted  in  1844,  was  intended  to  meet  a  necessity  which 
might  arise ;  (2)  It  was  made  dependent  on  the  concurrence  of  three 
fourths  of  the  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences;  (3)  It  was  made  de- 
pendent, also,  upon  the  observance  of  the  provisions  for  a  boundary  line 
between  the  two  churches,  should  a  new  Church  be  formed ;  (4)  Action 
was  taken  in  the  premises  by  the  Southern  delegates,  without  waiting  for 
the  anticipated  necessity;  (5)  The  Annual  Conferences  have  refused  to 
concur  in  that  part  of  the  plan  which  was  submitted  to  them ;  (6)  The 
provisions  respecting  a  boundary  have  been  violated  by  the  separating 
body ;  (7)  There  is,  therefore,  no  obligation  resting  upon  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  to  observe  the  plan;  (8)  And  the  plan  is  hereby  de- 
clared null  and  void. 


248  LIFE  OF  MATTIIEW  SIMPSON. 

ference.  The  war  with  Mexico  was  closed,  California  had 
been  annexed,  and  population  was  beginning  to  flow  tow- 
ards the  Pacific.  The  resolution  was  drawn  by  myself  and 
was  signed  by  Dr.  Curry  and  myself.  The  measure  met 
with  considerable  opposition ;  the  board  of  bishops  did  not 
see  its  propriety,  and  used  their  influence,  to  some  extent, 
against  it.  It  was  adopted  by  the  General  Conference,  after 
a  brief  but  animated  debate,  in  which  I  took  the  leading 
part  in  supporting  the  resolution.  Upon  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  the  ensuing  summer,  the  stream  of  population  rushed 
to  the  coast,  and  none  too  soon  was  a  Conference  organ- 
ized." Among  his  first  episcopal  acts,  after  his  election  in 
1S52,  was  a  long,  and,  at  times,  a  perilous  tour  through  Cal- 
ifornia and  Oregon. 

The  General  Conference  of  1852  was  the  last  attended  by 
President  Simpson  as  a  delegate.  He  obviously  appreciated 
this  mark  of  distinction  at  its  full  worth.  He  says  of  his 
last  election :  "  At  the  Conference  preceding  the  General 
Conference  of  1852  I  was  again  chosen  to  represent  the 
Conference,  at  the  head  of  the  delegation,  lacking  on  the 
ballot  only  four  of  the  entire  vote.  One  of  the  four  votes 
was  my  own,  another  that  of  a  decided  friend,  who  was  so 
anxious  for  the  success  of  another  friend  that  he  left  my 
name  off  his  ticket,  because,  as  he  said,  he  was  assured  of 
my  success;  who  the  other  two  were  I  never  knew  nor 
cared  to  know.  I  was  surprised  at  so  thorough  a  vote  of 
confidence  on  the  part  of  my  brethren,  especially  as  I  had 
been  assured  by  one  of  the  elder  ministers  that,  after  accept- 
ing the  editorship  of  the  Western  Advocate,  and  going  out 
of  the  bounds  of  my  Conference,  I  need  not  in  future  expect 
the  marks  of  confidence  from  my  brethren  which  I  had  pre- 
viously enjoyed." 

Lay  delegation  and  pewed  churches  were  the  chief  topics 
of  debate  in  the  General  Conference  of  1852,  and  here  again 
President  Simpson  was  among  the  foremost.  The  notice  of 
the  lay-delegation  movement  belongs  to  another  part  of  this 


"LAY  DELEGATION  INEXPEDIENT."  219 

volume.  The  Conference  found  itself  compelled  to  act  upon 
numerous  memorials,  both  for  and  against  this  change  in  its 
polity,  and  appointed  a  committee  of  twenty-nine,  at  the 
head  of  which  was  President  Simpson,  to  formulate  the 
judgment  of  the  body.  The  committee  unanimously  report- 
ed :  (1)  that  lay  delegation  was  inexpedient ;  (2)  that  the 
laity  had  already  ample  opportunities  in  the  Church  for 
wholesome  activity ;  (3)  that  the  mass  of  the  laity  were 
opposed  to  the  change.  Twenty  years  later,  in  1872,  lay 
delegates  took  their  seats  in  the  General  Conference,  but 
before  that  could  be  effected  many  things  had  to  be  said 
and  many  things  to  be  done.  Among  the  delegates  who 
voted  for  the  report  were  four  who  afterwards  earnestly  pro- 
moted the  lay  movement — Matthew  Simpson,  Abel  Stevens, 
John  P.  Durbin,  and  John  McClintock. 


XII. 

EDITOR  OF  THE  "  WESTERN  CHRISTIAN 
ADVOCATE." 

1848-185S. 


The  Life  of  a  College  President  Forty  Years  ago. — The  Failing  Health 
of  President  Simpson.— Advised  to  Change  his  Mode  of  Life. — Elected 
Editor  of  the  Western  Christian  Advocate. — Invited  to  be  President  of 
Several  Colleges — Power  of  a  Methodist  Official  Editor. — Doctor  El- 
liott, President  Simpson's  Editorial  Predecessor. — The  New  Editor's 
Idea  of  the  Administration  of  his  Paper. — No  Controversy  to  be  Tol- 
erated.— Doctor  Foster  Rej^lies  in  the  Advocate  to  Doctor  Rice,  not- 
withstanding.— The  Make-up  of  the  Advocate. — Is  Drawn  into  Con- 
troversy on  the  Great  Political  Question  of  the  Time. — The  Situation 
North  and  South.  —  Threats  of  Disunion.  —  Henry  Clay's  Omnibus 
Bill.- — Positions  of  Clay,  Calhoun,  and  Webster. — The  Famous  Editorial 
on  "The  Union."— Its  Reception. — Attacks  the  Fugitive-Slave  Bill. — 
Controversy  with  the  Indiana  State  Sentinel. — Ridicules  Compromising 
Politicians. — Rapid  Growth  as  an  Editor.— Mr.  S.  P.  Chase's  Letters 
to  him. 


THE  FATE  OF  A  COLLEGE  PRESIDENT.  253 


XII. 

By  the  year  1848  President  Simpson's  fame  as  the  suc- 
cessful head  of  a  university  (really  a  college  of  liberal  arts) 
had  spread  throughout  the  entire  country.  Positions  were 
offered  him  more  than  he  could  accept.  Between  1848  and 
1852  he  was  invited  to  take  charge  of  "Woodward  College 
in  Cincinnati,  of  the  newly  organized  Northwestern  Univer- 
sity at  Evanston,  to  become  president  of  Dickinson  College, 
and  also  of  the  "Wesleyan  University  at  Middletown,  Con- 
necticut. To  all  of  these  offers  he  gave  a  decided  refusal. 
Nay  more,  he  was  preparing  to  resign  college  work  alto- 
gether. Perhaps  he  was  weary  of  the  stress  of  privation 
and  toil  under  which  he  was  compelled,  as  a  college  presi- 
dent, to  live.  Such  positions  have  never  been  sinecures  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  he  who  entered  upon 
them  in  that  day  might  well  begin  by  bidding  farewell  to 
peace.  No  learned  ease  for  him ;  no  roaming  for  him  with 
boundless  content  through  the  shapely  walks  and  among 
the  seed  and  flower  plots  of  an  ample  library ;  no  plucking 
of  the  rich  fruits  of  thought  mellowed  by  age.  For  him 
money  was  the  one  thing  needful.  Grace  he  was  supposed 
to  have  in  abundance,  especially  the  grace  of  patience.  If 
he  lacked  that,  Heaven  might  pity  him.  To  keep  the  wolf 
from  the  college  door ;  to  provide  the  ways  and  means  of 
subsistence  for  himself  and  his  colleagues ;  to  gather  together 
the  equipments  of  a  high -class  school;  to  arouse  interest 
in  a  constituency  slow  to  apprehend  the  value  of  his  work ; 
to  meet  prejudice  and  opposition  with  unfailing  suavity; 
these  were  only  some  of  the  tasks  put  upon  the  heart  and 
brain  of  a  Methodist  college  president  forty  years  ago.     A 


054  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Methodist  college  president,  as  his  work  was  then  under- 
stood, must  teach  and  preach ;  must  know  how  to  make  a 
telling  address  to  a  conference  of  ministers  ;  must  be  a 
scholar  and  yet  not  a  recluse,  a  popular  leader  and  yet  be 
scholarly ;  must  be  such  a  financier  as  can  make  twice  two 
come  to  eight ;  must  have  a  good  eye  for  real  estate ;  must 
build ;  must  know  how  to  judge  of  the  sharpness  of  mortar, 
the  hardness  of  brick,  and  the  availability  of  stone ;  must 
have  a  smattering  of  law  and  comprehend  the  important 
points  of  contracts ;  and,  while  meeting  the  demands  of  a 
very  practical  age,  must  keep  abreast  of  it  in  learning,  and 
breathe  enthusiasm  for  knowledge  into  the  souls  of  young 

men.     And  all  of  these  perfections  for dollars  a  year ; 

and  for  many  of  them  this  blank  sum  was  very  blank  in- 
deed. And  Avhile  carrying  on  his  hard-fought  battle  in  the 
world  his  wife  is  probably  struggling  with  the  harder  prob- 
lems of  housekeeping,  as  those  problems  are  known  in  a 
raw,  unformed  country.  And  it  would  not  be  an  exaggera- 
tion of  fancy  to  surmise  that  the  careworn  president  has  had 
often,  at  close  of  day,  to  do  as  Melanchthon  did  before  him 
— hold  his  book  in  one  hand  and  rock  his  baby's  cradle 
with  the  other. 

Some  such  life  as  this  President  Simpson  had  to  live  in 
Indiana  for  nine  years,  and  it  wore  out  his  health.  But  he 
so  lived  it  as  to  win  the  affections  of  the  people  of  the  state. 
The  students  loved  him,  and  the  common  people  heard  him 
gladly.  It  was  not  his  fault  that  the  people  were  poor ;  out 
of  their  poverty  they  gave  him  freely  for  his  infant  univer- 
sity, and,  more  than  all,  they  gave  their  precious  jewels — 
their  sons.  His  name  was  a  household  word  in  the  hum- 
blest Methodist  log  cabin,  and  no  Methodist  boy  in  the 
state,  following  the  plough,  but  knew  that  at  Greencastle 
there  was  a  great-hearted  man  who  would  help  him  if  he 
aspired  to  a  higher  education  than  could  be  found  at  home. 
But  the  strain  upon  President  Simpson  was  too  much  for  him. 
He  gives  this  account  of  the  reasons  which  induced  him  to 


ELECTED  EDITOR.  255 

change :  "  The  summer  before  the  General  Conference  I 
had  a  severe  attack  of  typhoid  fever,  which  had  been  pre 
ceded  by  chills  and  fever.  The  opinions  of  my  physicians 
were  that  I  must  either  change  my  habits  of  life  or  my  res- 
idence. I  consulted  doctors  in  whom  I  had  great  confidence 
and  who  knew  me  in  Pittsburgh,  and,  such  being  their  judg- 
ment, I  felt  it  my  duty  to  say  to  the  delegates  from  Indiana 
that  they  must  look  for  a  new  president. 

"  My  purpose  was  to  return  to  the  Pittsburgh  Conference, 
of  which  I  had  formerly  been  a  member  ;  but  when  it  was 
rumored  that  I  was  to  retire  from  the  presidency,  I  was 
nominated,  by  a  number  of  friends,  as  editor  of  the  Western 
Christian  Advocate.  The  delegates  from  the  West  learning 
this,  proffered  me  that  position,  and  claimed  that  I  should 
remain  in  the  West.  Attending  a  preparatory  meeting  to 
nominate  officers  for  the  West,  I  protested,  when  named  for 
the  Advocate,  against  accepting.  I  urged  that  Dr.  Elliott, 
who  was  my  friend,  and  who  had  been  editor,  should  re- 
main, and  that,  if  desired,  I  would  accept  the  place  of  as 
sistant.  The  General  Conference,  however,  refused  to  ap- 
point more  than  one  editor,  and,  without  my  consent,  I  was 
elected.  I  returned  from  the  General  Conference  to  Green- 
castle,  where  I  remained  until  the  college  year  closed. 

"  I  had  scarcely  become  settled  in  my  office  as  editor,  in 
1848,  when  I  received  a  letter  from  the  faculty  of  Dickin- 
son College,  saying  that  the  trustees  had  authorized  them  to 
nominate  a  president,  and  that  they  would  officially  elect 
him.  Though  thankful  for  the  courtesy,  and  esteeming  the 
position  an  honorable  one,  I  felt  obliged  to  decline,  as  I  had 
determined  to  obey  the  voice  of  the  Church,  and,  as  far  as 
I  could,  to  discharge  the  duty  committed  to  me.  The  fol- 
lowing year  I  was  urged  to  accept  the  presidency  of  the 
Northwestern  University,  then  about  to  be  founded.  This 
I  was  also  obliged  to  decline ;  but  I  conferred  freely  with 
Doctor,  afterwards  Governor,  Evans,  and  made  suggestions 
which  resulted   in  the  purchase  of  the   splendid  site  at 


25 G  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Evanston.  On  my  way  to  the  General  Conference  in  Bos- 
ton, in  1852,  I  Avas  also  approached  by  members  of  the  fac- 
ulty and  trustees  of  the  Wesleyan  University  at  Middle- 
town,  and  asked  to  accept  the  presidency  of  it,  then  vacant. 
All  invitations  of  this  character  I  declined,  believing  that 
my  health  required  more  exercise  and  a  change  of  air.  1 
preferred  the  regular  pastorate." 

He  was  now  in  a  position  of  enormous  power,  for  to  the 
plain  Methodist  his  Advocate  is  the  fifth  gospel.  Its  editor, 
Avhoever  he  may  be,  is  the  Church's  champion,  who  is  ex- 
pected to  do  valiant  battle  for  him  with  the  enemy  at  the  gate. 
The  champion  is  not  of  his  own  choosing,  but  is  sent  by  the 
higher  powers.  To  him  he  looks  for  cheer,  for  warning,  for 
the  quickening  of  zeal.  To  admire,  even  to  revere,  and  to 
follow  this  man  of  war,  is  to  the  plain  Methodist  just  as  ob- 
vious a  duty  as  it  is  to  obey  his  Discipline  or  to  express  his 
religious  feeling  in  the  language  of  Charles  Wesley's  hymns. 
This  enormous  power  of  the  official  editor  over  the  Meth- 
odist mind  has  been  wielded  sometimes  wisely,  sometimes 
despotically,  at  all  times  vigorously.  Through  its  penetrat- 
ing force,  the  Church  has  wrell  maintained  the  conception  of 
a  militant  body.  President  Simpson  had  been  preceded  in 
the  editorial  care  of  the  Western  Advocate  by  Dr.  Charles 
Elliott,  his  former  preceptor  at  Madison  College  and  his 
steadfast  friend.  Whether  the  old  hero  was  surprised  to  find 
himself  superseded  by  his  pupil  we  have  not  the  means  of 
knowing.  At  all  events  he  took  the  displacement  in  good 
part,  and  retired  cheerfully  to  the  pastoral  work.  He  thanks 
God,  he  says,  that  young,  gifted  men  are  raised  up  "  to  fill 
the  places  of  the  aged  when  their  voices  and  their  pens 
shall  no  longer  instruct  or  encourage  the  armies  of  Israel." 
In  the  review  of  his  editorial  life  the  good  doctor  con- 
fesses that  he  had  lost  ground  in  solid  study.  "  We  can 
scarcely  suppose,"  he  writes  pathetically,  "  a  more  unfavor- 
able position  for  systematic  study  or  severe  preparation  for 
the  press  than  the  miscellaneous  gatherings  and  vagrant  re- 


NO  CONTROVERSY.  257 

searches  of  the  weekly  editor."  And  now  that  he  is  free 
from  these  "  vagrant  researches,"  he  promises  a  solid  work 
on  the  "  sinfulness  of  American  slavery ;"  this  he  lived  to 
execute.  Judge  Longstreet,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  South, 
had  challenged  the  proof  of  this  thesis,  and  the  veteran  Elli- 
ott took  him  up. 

At  first,  Dr.  Simpson's  conception  of  the  scope  of  a 
Church  paper  was  the  old  and,  as  we  all  now  think,  the 
narrow  and  exclusive  one  of  the  defence  of  Methodism. 
All  assaults  of  foes  without  were  to  be  beaten  off ;  all  up- 
risings of  disloyalty  within  were  to  be  firmly  repressed. 
In  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  free  and  healthful  criticism 
of  the  Church's  methods  could  scarcely  be  borne,  and  was 
not.  The  times  were,  indeed,  not  propitious  to  criticism 
from  within.  The  Church  had  been  rent  in  twain,  and  the 
dissevered  portions  stood  in  an  attitude  of  ill-suppressed  hos- 
tility towards  each  other.  The  slavery  question  had  come 
into  our  national  politics,  and  had  come  to  stay.  The  old 
disputes,  which  had  formed  political  parties,  about  a  na- 
tional bank  or  state  banks,  currency,  and  tariff,  were  fading 
from  sight.  The  new  editor  had  no  taste  for  doctrinal  or 
ecclesiastical  controversy,  and  he  says,  in  his  memoir  of 
himself,  that  he  did  his  utmost  to  exclude  both.  "  When  I 
took  charge  of  the  Advocate"  he  writes,  " I  found  it  in  the 
midst  of  a  discussion  both  with  the  editor  of  the  Methodist, 
a  paper  published  by  Dr.  Latta,  in  behalf  of  the  South,  and 
also  with  Dr.  Eice,  on  the  doctrines  and  polity  of  Method- 
ism as  compared  with  the  doctrines  and  polity  of  Presbyte- 
rianism.  I  resolved  that  no  controversy  should  be  begun  by 
me,  nor  would  I  take  up  one  already  begun.  I  consequent- 
ly excluded  from  the  paper  all  communications  of  this  kind, 
announced  in  my  salutatory  my  determination  to  avoid  per- 
sonalities and  to  make  the  paper  strictly  a  Church  paper 
for  the  defence  of  the  doctrines  and  polity  of  Methodism. 
For  several  weeks  I  permitted  no  reply  to  any  strictures. 
Dr.  Latta  began  and  kept  up  for  months  a  constant  attack, 
17 


258  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

but  I  never  so  much  as  noticed  the  existence  of  his  paper  or 
of  any  of  his  assailing  articles.  Dr.  Rice  soon  commenced 
a  fain  his  assaults  on  Methodism.  I  wrote  a  brief  article  or 
two  deprecating  controversy,  but  he  became  still  more  bel- 
ligerent ;  after  writing  a  defensive  article,  I  allowed  Doctor 
Foster,  since  bishop,  to  present  his  objections  to  Calvinism, 
which  were  afterwards  published  in  book  form.  The  arti- 
cles were  very  able,  and  the  friends  of  Dr.  Rice  were  the 
first  to  discover  that  controversy  was  not  profitable.  The 
paper  edited  by  Dr.  Latta  finally  died,  he  himself  became  my 
warm  personal  friend,  and  then  told  me  that  he  had  wished 
to  discontinue  his  articles  very  soon  after  my  accession  to 
the  editorship,  but  his  friends  had  urged  him  to  go  on  with 
them." 

The  means  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  Church  editor  then 
seem  to  us  in  our  time  to  be  ludicrously  inadequate.  In  his 
opening  article  Dr.  Simpson  calls  for  help :  "  We  have  but 
little  original  matter  in  this  week's  paper,  and  we  have  no 
supply  for  our  next  issue  except  obituary  notices.  Send  us 
short  articles  written  in  a  plain  hand."  The  editorial  cup- 
board was  empty ;  nothing  was  laid  up  in  store  for  the  pro- 
verbial rainy  day.  Of  money  for  the  payment  of  contribu- 
tions, carefully  prepared,  there  was  none ;  the  thought  of 
such  an  outlay  had  not  yet  been  entertained. 

In  default  of  original  matter,  much  reliance  was  placed 
upon  selections  which  were  skilfully  chosen.  Kirwan's  let- 
ters to  Bishop  Hughes  were  copied  from  the  New  York  Ob- 
server /  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazine  of  London  was 
freely  drawn  upon  for  supplies ;  and  much  attention  was 
given  to  scientific  discovery  and  travel.  Soon  signs  were 
visible  of  increasing  breadth ;  a  regular  New  England  and 
New  York  correspondence  Avas  maintained — no  doubt  paid 
for.  Dr.  Curry  was  the  New  York  correspondent,  and  sent 
invariably  a  good  miscellany  of  news.  The  leaders  were  for 
a  time  practical  and  hortatory ;  having  determined  to  avoid 
controversy  with  the  Church  South,  other  course  was  not 


ENGAGES  IN  CONTROVERSY.  259 

open  to  the  editor.  Soon,  however,  he  found  a  subject  which 
kindled  him  and  set  him  aflame.  Next  to  his  strong  deter- 
mination towards  men  for  their  conversion  to  Christianity, 
his  strongest  impulse  was  towards  politics  in  the  highest 
sense  of  the  term.  He  knew  that  the  right  administration 
of  the  State  demands  the  best  faculties  of  the  best  citizens 
and  should  be  the  serious  concern  of  all  citizens.  His  old 
uncle  was  one  of  the  early  abolitionists,  and,  although  he 
had  never  been  able  to  convert  his  nephew  to  the  opinions 
of  that  small  but  resolute  party,  he  had  not  failed  to  discuss 
with  him  the  issues  which  the  abolitionists  had  forced  upon 
the  attention  of  the  country.  The  correspondence  had  not 
been  without  warmth  on  both  sides,  nor  had  it  failed  to  arouse 
the  nephew's  conscience.  Though  guarded  in  his  speech, 
Simpson,  the  preacher,  president,  and  editor  was  an  active 
anti-slavery  man. 

We  will  let  him  give  the  account  of  this  part  of  his  editorial 
career  himself :  "  The  anti-slavery  spirit  was  strong  in  some 
parts  of  Ohio ;  in  some  places  there  may  have  been,  in  the 
height  of  excitement,  mistakes  committed  on  one  side  or  the 
other.  While  the  paper  was,  in  tone  and  spirit,  thoroughly 
anti-slavery,  and  unwavering  in  its  devotion  to  temperance, 
still  I  would  not  allow  the  personal  mistakes  of  the  friends 
or  officers  of  the  Church  in  any  place  to  be  made  the  subject 
of  unfriendly  or  severe  comment.  On  public  measures  the 
paper  was  outspoken.  For  a  very  decided  editorial  on  the 
fugitive-slave  law  it  received  the  commendation  of  the  In- 
diana Conference  by  a  rising  vote.  It  defended  against 
political  assailants  the  position  of  the  Church ;  it  advocated 
public  improvements,  looking  to  the  development  of  the 
West.  For  its  interest  in  California,  it  received  commenda- 
tory letters  from  Thomas  II.  Benton ;  for  its  course  on 
slavery  and  its  editorials  on  the  measures  of  Congress,  it 
received  friendly  letters  from  Judge  Chase  and  others." 

The  political  situation  was  very  grave;  the  territory  ac- 
quired in  the  war  with  Mexico  was  about  to  be  brought 


260  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

into  the  Union  as  free.  The  citizens  of  California  had 
framed  a  constitution  by  which  slavery  was  forever  ex- 
cluded from  the  state,  and  had  adopted  it  by  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority  of  votes.  The  soil  of  New  Mexico  was  already 
free  by  the  laws  of  the  Mexican  republic ;  slavery  could  be 
now  established  there  only  by  the  positive  law  of  Congress. 
The  South  threatened  immediate  disunion  if  the  carefully 
maintained  equilibrium  of  slave  and  free  states,  then  exist- 
ing, were  seriously  disturbed.  On  this  subject  Mr.  Calhoun 
made  his  last  speech  in  the  Senate,  March  4,  1850.  He  in- 
sisted that  the  balancing  of  free  with  slave  states  once  lost, 
the  South  could  not  remain  in  the  Union.  He  claimed, 
too,  that  the  admission  of  California  was  for  the  South  a 
test  case,  and  that  if  this  state  came  in  without  slavery,  the 
only  remedy  left  for  the  South  was  either  an  amendment 
of  the  Constitution  giving  it  a  veto  on  the  action  of  the 
Northern  States,  or  disunion.*  He  was  at  this  time  in  a 
dying  condition.  The  speech  containing  this  declaration 
was  read  to  the  Senate  by  a  brother  senator,  and  in  four 
weeks  thereafter  Calhoun  passed  away,  leaving  followers 
who  had  adopted  his  theories  and  were  ready  to  carry 
them  out  to  the  last  results.  Mr.  Clay,  to  whom  the  coun- 
try  had  so  often  looked  for  measures  of  peace,  was  now 
an  old  man,  so  infirm  that  he  could  with  difficulty  climb 
the  steps  of  the  Capitol.  He  had  passed  his  threescore  years 
and  ten,  yet  his  eye  was  not  dim,  nor  was  his  persuasive 
power  seriously  impaired.  He  was  alarmed  by  the  temper 
of  the  South;  he  knew  that  there  were  bold  leaders  of 
the  Southern  people  who  were  bent  on  secession  if  they 
could  not  secure  for  slavery  a  controlling  influence  over 
the  Union.  At  heart  and  in  his  spoken  utterances,  he  was 
an  advocate  of  a  peaceful  ending  of  the  slave  system.  He 
had  urged  the  people  of  Kentucky  to  enter  upon  a  gradual 
emancipation  of  their  slaves.     Man -hunting  he  detested, 


*  See  Scburz's  "  Life  of  Henry  Clay,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  338. 


HENRY  CLAY  IN  1850.  261 

and  had  but  once  in  his  life  given  his  services  as  a  lawyer 
for  the  reclamation  of  a  slave,  and  then  only  to  oblige  a 
personal  friend.  In  the  course  of  his  long  political  life  he 
had  conceived  of  but  one  remedy  for  the  evils  of  the  times  ; 
that  remedy  was  a  mutuality  of  concession  by  North  and 
South.  This  remedy  he  sought  to  apply  once  more.  Sum- 
moning all  the  energy  of  his  failing  body,  he  spent  the  en- 
tire winter  of  1819-1850  in  urging  the  adoption  of  a  series 
of  measures  for  composing  the  excitement  which  now  per- 
vaded the  country.* 

He  did  not  perceive  that  his  scheme  for  making  peace 
would  be  of  no  avail,  and  that  the  day  for  compromise  was 
past.  Nor  did  he  know  how  thoroughly  the  Northern  con- 
science had  been  aroused  to  the  enormity  of  the  system  of 
slavery,  and  how  inevitably,  before  the  action  of  its  aroused 
conscience,  the  system  must  go  down.  But  he  did  know  that 
the  followers  of  Calhoun  were  terribly  in  earnest  and  meant 
every  word  they  spoke.  So  during  that  long  winter  and  the 
following  spring,  often  scarcely  able  to  stand  in  his  place  in 
the  Senate,  he  appealed  for  the  Union.  Dissolution,  he  said, 
meant  civil  war,  and  civil  war  he  would  not,  he  could  not 
face.  To  pacify  the  North  his  series  of  bills  provided  for  the 
prompt  admission  of  free  California,  and  to  pacify  the  South 
New  Mexico  was  made  a  territory  with  or  without  slavery 
as  its  people  might  choose,  and  a  stringent  fugitive-slave  law 

*  Nothing  in  the  entire  debate  is  finer  than  Clay's  outburst  of  feeling 
against  Mr.  Rhett  of  South  Carolina.  Rhett  had  avowed  strong  disunion 
opinions,  and  one  of  his  friends  had  said  that  his  opinions  might  prove 
to  be  the  opinions  of  his  state.  "  Mr.  President,"  replied  Mr.  Clay,  "  I 
said  nothing  with  regard  to  the  character  of  Mr.  Rhett.  I  know  him 
personally  and  have  some  respect  for  him.  Cut  if  he  pronounced  the 
sentiment  attributed  to  him,  of  raising  the  standard  of  disunion  and  of 
resistance  to  the  common  government,  whatever  he  has  been,  if  he  fol- 
lows up  that  declaration  by  corresponding  overt  acts  "—the  old  man's  eye 
flashed,  and  his  voice  rang  out  in  a  thunder  peal — "  he  will  be  a  traitor, 
and  I  hope  he  will  meet  the  fate  of  a  traitor."— Schurz,  "Life  of  Clay," 
vol.  ii.,  p.  357. 


262  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

was  passed.  It  ought  to  be  said,  in  justice  to  the  humanity 
of  Mr.  Clay,  that  the  original  draft  of  his  fugitive-slave  bill 
provided  for  the  trial  of  every  case  of  the  reclamation  of  a 
slave  by  a  jury,  but  this,  its  only  humane  feature,  was  struck 
out.  Mr.  Webster,  three  days  after  Calhoun's  speech  had 
been  read  to  the  Senate,  astonished  the  country  by  turning 
his  back  upon  the  convictions  and  declarations  of  a  lifetime. 
Thus  the  old  statesmen  who  had  led  the  country  for  years 
failed  to  comprehend  the  situation.  Perhaps,  in  mercy  to 
them,  the  things  to  come  were  hid  from  their  eyes.  In  that 
memorable  winter  of  1819-50  Mr.  Seward  was  in  the  Senate, 
and  had  amazed  Southern  senators  by  declaring  that  the  pub- 
lic domain  was  already  devoted  to  justice  and  liberty  by  a 
higher  law  than  the  Constitution.  Chase  was  there,  and 
told  the  senators  that  the  people  would  unsettle  their  settle- 
ment, even  if  it  should  prevail  in  Congress. 

The  country  was  aglow  with  excitement,  and  Simpson 
the  editor  was  in  touch  with  the  country.  While  the  coim 
promise  bills  were  pending,  he  addressed  his  readers,  on 
May  1,  1850,  in  the  strong  editorial  of  which  he  speaks 
with  such  evident  satisfaction.  It  will  be  seen  that  he 
judged  the  South  superficially,  just  as  many  in  the  South 
underrated  the  earnestness  of  the  people  of  the  North. 

"the  union. 

"  Is  there  any  danger  of  disunion?  At  present  we  see  not  the  slightest 
indication  of  it.  Why,  then,  all  this  outcry,  and  why  all  these  flaming 
speeches  at  Washington  ?  At  the  risk,  gentle  reader,  of  offending  aspir- 
ing politicians,  we  will  tell  you. 

"The  pro-slavery  party  in  this  nation  desire  to  introduce  slavery  into 
New  Mexico,  and  they  wish  more  stringent  laws  to  recapture  fugitive 
slaves — laws  which  will  enable  any  petty  postmaster  to  call  out  every 
good  citizen  and  turn  him  into  a  police  officer,  to  assist  him  in  this  de- 
grading work — laws,  too,  which  will  greatly  facilitate  the  process  of  kid- 
napping the  free  colored  population.  But  these  laws  cannot  be  passed 
without  Northern  votes.  The  problem  is  then  presented,  how  can  North- 
ern votes  be  obtained  ?  The  desire  for  office  and  emoluments  they  know 
is  very  strong,  and  hence  they  whisper  their  purpose  to  make  a  certain 


THE  EDITORIAL  ON  THE  UNION.  263 

Whig  or  Democrat  the  next  president,  if  they  can  give  him  the  votes  of 
the  South.  Others  they  wish  to  see  in  the  Cabinet,  or  in  important  for- 
eign embassies.  But  how  can  these  Northern  men  manage  to  vote  with 
the  South  without  calling  down  upon  them  the  indignation  and  curses 
of  the  North  ?  Only  by  the  South  getting  up  the  cry  of  disunion.  Then 
when  they  get  the  country  excited,  these  Northern  champions  magnani- 
mously step  forward  to  save  the  Union.  They  compromise  the  rights  of 
humanity,  pretendedly  to  save  the  Union,  but  really  to  get  into  the  Presi- 
dency, Cabinet,  or  some  important  station.  In  "Washington  these  tilings 
are  well  understood ;  but  both  political  parties  are  involved,  and  the  press 
is  expected  to  keep  silent.  Among  themselves  they  laugh  at  the  scheme, 
but  they  expect  to  gull  the  '  dear  people.'  Nay,  these  very  men  will  claim 
the  honor  and  gratitude  of  the  North  for  their  efforts  to  save  the  Union; 
that  is,  to  get  offices  for  themselves  by  betraying  their  constituents. 

"  This,  dear  reader,  is,  so  far  as  we  can  learn — and  we  have  conversed 
with  many  gentlemen  from  Washington — the  true  history  and  position 
of  affairs  at  present.  What  the  issue  will  be  we  cannot  say  ,•  but  we  will 
venture  the  prediction,  that  every  Northern  man  who  votes  with  the  South 
will  soon  be  nominated  for  some  important  office. 

"  In  this  surrender  of  rights,  a  stupendous  fraud  is  attempted  by  our 
senators  and  representatives.  By  admitting  California  along  with  the 
territories,  the  Wilmot  Proviso  must  be  abandoned.*  Some  of  the  sena- 
tors and  representatives  will  vote  for  it  from  the  lips,  expecting  to  de- 
ceive the  people  by  parliamentary  tactics.  Already  all  the  schemes  are 
laid,  and  Northern  men  are  known  to  be  parties  to  the  plan  to  sacrifice 
the  territories ;  and  yet,  by  a  vote  cunningly  given,  they  expect  to  divert 
the  attention  of  their  constituents  from  their  real  position.  Such  men 
will  learn  that  the  eyes  of  the  people  are  upon  them,  and  that  the  peo- 
ple are  not  quite  so  ignorant  and  stupid  as  they  imagine  them  to  be. 
They  will  learn  that  it  is  dangerous  to  expose  the  freemen  of  the 
North  for  sale  in  the  shambles  at  Washington,  even  for  the  sake  of  the 
Presidency  or  Cabinet ;  and  office,  however  desirable,  may  be  too  dearly 
bought. 

"  Again :  if  the  proviso  is  deemed  wholly  unnecessary,  who  cannot  see 
that  this  union  of  California  with  the  territoriest  is  an  admonition  to  the 


*  A  resolution  offered  in  Congress  by  a  representative  of  that  name, 
forbidding  the  extension  of  slavery  to  our  territories. 

t  Mr.  Clay's  bill— known  as  the  Omnibus  Bill— included  California,  New 
Mexico,  Deseret,  and  the  reclamation  of  fugitive  slaves  in  one  legislative 
measure.  In  tin's  form  it  was  defeated  ;  subsequently,  the  several  parts 
of  his  bill  passed  Congress  as  separate  measures. 


204  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

territories  not  to  adopt  the  same  kind  of  a  constitution  ?  California  has 
now  been  kept  knocking  for  admission  for  nearly  five  months.  As  yet 
she  knocks  in  vain.  And  if  she  comes  in  only  by  compromise,  is  it  not 
virtually  saying  to  New  Mexico  and  Deseret:  'Dare  not  to  insert  the 
odious  principle  of  freedom  in  your  constitution ;  if  so,  you  may  not  be 
admitted  at  all,  for  California  was  only  saved  by  compromise'  ?  Such  a 
compromise  is  a  premium  upon  slavery. 

"But,  says  a  sensitive  politician  who  dreads  free  speech,  I  thought  the 
Advocate  was  a  religious  paper — how  dare  you  discuss  political  questions  ? 
We  answer,  the  Advocate  is  a  religious  paper,  and  that  is  the  reason  we 
dare  to  pursue  an  independent  course.  We  are  not  sold  to  the  Whigs 
or  Democrats  or  Free-soil  men. 

"  We  ask  no  support  from  any  or  all  of  them  as  parties;  and  we  dread 
not  the  frowns  or  censures  of  any  man  among  them,  however  distinguished, 
though  some  of  them  we  most  highly  respect.  We  meddle  with  no  mere- 
ly political  questions.  We  seek  not  the  triumph  of  any  party.  They 
may  arrange  at  pleasure  the  questions  of  banks,  and  tariffs,  and  sub- 
treasuries,  and  spoils  of  office.  We  care  not  what  may  be  their  peculiar 
party  machinery.  We  stand  upon  higher  ground.  We  are  Christians — 
we  are  Christian  freemen  —  and  this  question  deeply  affects  us.  It  is 
a  moral  as  well  as  a  political  question.  It  affects  churches  as  well  as 
states. 

"  Who  does  not  know  that  the  churches  of  the  North  are,  in  a  great 
measure,  excluded  from  slaveholding  territory  ?  Some  of  the  ministers 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  have  been  mobbed,  and  some  have 
been  compelled  to  escape  to  save  their  lives,  simply  for  preaching  the 
gospel  among  slaveholders.  One  of  our  brethren  was  driven  by  an  of- 
ficer of  the  United  States  government,  through  the  influence  of  slave- 
holders, out  of  the  Indian  Territory.  That  missionary  was  sent  out  by  the 
bishop ;  he  was  then,  and  is  now,  an  energetic  and  laborious  member  of 
the  Ohio  Conference,  but  he  was  sacrificed  to  slavery.  That,  too,  was  in 
a  free  territory — free  by  law,  but  not  in  fact :  for  in  it  church  members 
and  ministers  traffic  in  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men.  And  yet,  when 
Daniel  Webster  and  Lewis  Cass,  the  great  leaders  of  the  Whig  and  Demo- 
cratic parties,  dwelt  upon  the  injuries  the  South  had  sustained,  they  could 
never  stoop  to  notice  the  insults  and  injuries  committed  against  minis- 
ters and  churches,  contrary  to  all  law  and  all  propriety.  Now  let  New 
Mexico  be  made  slave  territory,  and  it  will  be,  to  a  great  extent,  closed 
against  the  churches  and  ministers  of  the  North ;  and  yet  we  are  com- 
manded not  to  utter  a  word  of  warning,  or  a  voice  of  remonstrance.  It 
is  a  political,  not  a  religious  question !  Men  of  state  !  politicians  of  every 
hue  and  party !  we  tell  you  we  will  not  bow  dowu  and  worship  the  im- 


RESPONSES  TO   THE  EDITORIAL.  265 

age  -which  you  have  set  up.  You  may  heat  your  oven  as  you  have  threat- 
ened, but  we  are  persuaded  that  its  flames  shall  not  injure  us. 

"  Besides  all  this,  the  plan  now  before  the  Senate  is  an  artful  attempt 
to  make  a  treaty  law.  We  have  heard  that  the  solemnity  of  a  treaty  is 
now  claimed,  even  by  Northern  politicians,  for  a  joint  resolution  admit- 
ting Texas.*  The  men  who  would  not  vote  for  a  new  slave  state  say 
they  are  bound  by  treaty  !  "What  is  this  committee  of  compromise  ?  An 
attempt  to  make  a  treaty  between  the  North  and  the  South  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  Let  it  carry,  and  for  all  time  to  come  we  shall  hear  of  the 
solemn  compact,  the  compromise  that  saved  the  Union;  and  men  will  be 
invoked  to  beware  of  breaking  a  treaty.  Were  we  a  member  of  the  Sen- 
ate or  House  of  Representatives,  we  would  vote  for  no  bill  of  any  kind 
brought  in  by  such  a  committee,  because  we  believe  it  to  be  an  attempted 
fraud.  And  when  such  a  measure  is  adopted  to  bind  suffering  humanity 
upon  the  altar,  and  offer  it  up  as  a  sacrifice  to  appease  the  dark  spirit 
of  slavery,  we  beg  leave  to  be  neither  priest  nor  party  in  the  dreadful 
orgies. 

"  We  have  now  spoken  freely  and  fully,  both  because  we  believed  it  to 
be  our  duty,  and  because  the  threatening  note  from  aspiring  politicians 
has  warned  us  to  let  these  objects  alone.  To  all  such  threats  we  can 
only  reply :  '  Gentlemen  of  the  political  school,  you  may  muzzle  the  po- 
litical press  if  you  can,  but  the  religious  press  shall  be  free,  and  for  its 
support  we  shall  throw  ourselves  upon  the  country. '  In  using  the  word 
'  South '  in  these  remarks,  we  wish  explicitly  to  state  that  we  mean  the 
pro-slavery  party.  The  majority  of  the  citizens  of  the  South,  we  believe, 
are  firm  friends  of  freedom,  but  their  voice  and  feelings  are  suppressed 
by  the  tyranny  of  the  slaveholders." 

The  responses  to  this  editorial  were  immediate.  One 
friend  writes  :  "  How  glad  I  am  to  see  a  man  at  the  head 
of  our  Church  paper  who  has  the  nerve  to  do  right."  An- 
other :  "  That  editorial  on  the  Union  makes  everything  tin- 
gle ;  politicians  hear  of  it,  inquire  for  it,  read  it,  and  some 
commend  and  a  few  condemn.  I  believe  it  is  the  most  pop- 
ular editorial  you  have  written,  short  as  it  is."  Mr.  Chase 
had  already  written  from  the  Senate  chamber :  "  I  do  not 

*  Texas  was  admitted,  as  an  independent  state,  to  the  Union  by  a  joint 
resolution  of  the  two  houses  of  Congress,  approved  by  acting-President 
Tyler,  March  1, 1845.  All  of  New  Mexico,  east  of  the  river  Rio  Grande, 
was  claimed  by  Texas  at  the  time  of  its  annexation  to  the  United  States. 


266  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

choose  to  resist  the  inclination  which  impels  me  to  offer 
you  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  manly  and  more  than  man- 
ly, your  Christian  article  on  the  late  scene  'in  the  Senate  " — 
the  assault  by  Senator  Foote  of  Mississippi  on  Senator  Ben- 
ton, lie  was  now  fully  committed  to  the  political  struggle, 
which  he  regarded  as  a  battle  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  Christian  morals.  Already,  on 
April  3,  1850,  he  had  asserted  the  right  of  the  religious 
press  to  take  part  in  the  discussion  which  had  now  spread 
over  the  entire  country :  "  When  moral  principles  are  the 
ground  of  controversy,  and  when  the  discussion  turns  upon 
the  great  questions  of  human  rights,  then  no  tongue  should 
be  dumb,  no  press  should  be  silent."  Having  entered  this 
field,  he  remained  in  it,  a  champion  in  complete  armor.  He 
had  already  begun  to  despair  of  the  support  of  freedom  by 
public  men,  and  he  appeals  to  the  people :  "  Yes,  Christian 
freemen,  these  Washington  politicians  are  negotiating  for 
your  votes,  as  coolly  and  deliberately  as  their  twin  brothers 
are  for  flesh  and  blood  in  the  shambles,  over  which  wave  the 
stars  and  stripes  of  our  national  banner.  How  forcible  are 
these  expressions  of  Holy  "Writ :  '  Cease  ye  from  man  whose 
breath  is  in  his  nostrils.'  '  Put  not  your  trust  in  princes, 
nor  in  the  sons  of  men,  in  whom  there  is  no  help.'  Truth 
shall  yet  triumph,  the  right  shall  yet  prevail.  The  omnip- 
otence of  God  is  pledged  to  bring  to  naught  the  counsels  of 
wicked  men.  On  that  we  rely,  and  though,  for  a  season,  op- 
pression and  iniquity  may  exalt  themselves,  yet  their  tri- 
umph will  be  short-lived." 

When  the  fugitive-slave  bill  was  passed,  he  reviewed  it 
with  great  keenness.  He  was  not  of  the  number  of  men 
who  would  deny  the  legal  right  of  slaveholders  to  reclaim 
fugitive  slaves  :  he  would  submit  to  all  that  was  nominated 
in  the  bond,  but  he  would  have  the  bond  strictly  construed. 
He  insisted  that,  until  the  title  of  a  master  was  fully  proved, 
the  claimed  negro  should  have  every  right  which  the  law 
secures  to  a  freeman,  especially  the  benefit  of  a  trial  by  jury 


REPLY  TO   THE  "STATE  SENTINEL."  267 

and  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  both  of  which  the  fugitive- 
slave  law  denied.  He  poured  unending  satire  upon  "  the  ten- 
dollar  commissioners  "  whom  the  law  made  judges  of  the 
freedom  or  slavery  of  colored  men.  By  the  terms  of  the 
law  the  commissioner  was  allowed  Jive  dollars  if  he  ad- 
judged the  negro  brought  before  him  to  be  free,  and  ten 
dollars  if  he  adjudged  him  to  be  a  slave.  "  The  law,"  he 
wrote,  "  authorizes  the  employment  of  deputy  marshals  to 
any  extent,  who  may  call  into  requisition  the  services  of 
every  good  citizen.  The  minister  may  be  on  his  way,  on 
the  holy  Sabbath,  to  address  an  assembled  congregation, 
but,  at  the  requisition  of  a  deputy  marshal,  the  creature  of 
these  ten-dollar  commissioners,  he  must  let  his  congregation 
wait,  for  the  law  commands  him  to  aid  in  the  more  glorious 
enterprise  of  capturing  a  runaway  slave,  or  more  likely  of 
aiding  in  kidnapping  a  freeman." 

His  criticisms  of  the  law  were  felt,  especially  in  Indiana, 
and  the  State  Sentinel,  then  edited  by  a  member  of  Congress, 
attempted  a  reply  in  a  style  once  common  to  the  political 
press  when  noticing  the  intrusion  of  a  religious  paper  into 
the  domain  of  politics.  Its  editorial  said :  "  We  have  always 
admired  Dr.  Simpson  for  his  eloquence  in  the  pulpit  and 
the  simplicity  and  beauty  of  his  style.  But  divinity,  not  law, 
has  been  his  study.  We  shall  review  his  article  in  the  spirit 
of  Christian  forbearance."  Very  admirable,  indeed,  but  the 
unlucky  editor  found  that  Dr.  Simpson  knew  something  of 
law  as  well  as  of  divinity  ;  for  he  showed,  from  the  highest 
authorities,  that  a  law  enacting  a  crime  is,  by  the  force  of 
natural  reason,  null  and  void.  The  Sentinel  was  left  in  a 
pitiful  plight.  The  correspondence  of  Dr.  Simpson,  of  this 
period,  shows  the  instant  effect  of  his  rejoinder.  One  friend 
writes  "  that  the  members  of  Congress  and  others  had  been 
censuring  his  course,  but  that  since  the  appearance  of  the 
editorial  they  all  seemed  to  have  the  lock-jaw."  Another, 
after  speaking  of  its  effect,  adds  :  "  Politicians  took  it  upon 
them  to  exercise  a  censorship  over  clergymen  and  religious 


2GS  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

journals  altogether  unwarrantable.  I  wonder  if  they  will 
never  learn  to  reply  respectfully  to  an  article  in  a  religious 
paper  without  closing  with  an  exhortation  or  a  long  string 
of  advice." 

It  is  clear  that  a  change  was  going  on  in  his  mind,  and 
that  having  begun  his  editorial  life  with  a  deprecation  of  all 
controversy,  he  was  becoming,  in  mid  career,  a  vigorous  con- 
troversialist. His  foes  were  not  such  as  he  had  at  first  looked 
for;  they  were  without,  not  within,  the  Church.  There 
grew  up  in  him,  too,  a  purpose  to  free  the  Church,  or,  at 
least,  the  Church  press,  from  political  dictation  in  matters 
not  purely  ecclesiastical.  His  eyes  had  been  opened  to  the 
meanness  of  much  American  political  conduct,  and  he  grew 
more  and  more  determined  to  hold  public  men  to  their  ac- 
countability before  God's  law.  They  had  assumed  a  patron- 
izing tone  towards  him ;  he  retaliated  by  exposing  their  ig- 
norance of  things  they  ought  to  know.  A  Texas  governor, 
rejoicing  over  the  grant  of  ten  millions  by  Congress,  in  set- 
tlement of  the  boundary  claim  of  that  state,  had  said,  in  a 
thanksgiving  proclamation,  "  In  the  beautiful  and  expressive 
language  of  the  Bible,  the  winter  of  our  discontent  is  gone ; 
the  rain  is  over  and  past ;  the  time  of  the  springing  of  the 
flowers  is  come,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  is  heard  in  the 
land."  Dr.  Simpson,  in  satirizing  this  jumbling  together  of 
Scripture  and  Shakespeare,  says  he  suspects  that  there  is  a 
politician's  Bible,  and  conjectures  that  "  it  may  contain  the 
code  of  ethics  followed  by  our  leading  politicians,  and  which 
the  divines,  who  have  only  the  light  of  the  old  dispensation, 
are  at  a  loss  to  comprehend.  How  shall  we  obtain  a  copy  ? 
Cannot  some  of  our  friends  in  Congress,  who  take  a  deep  in- 
terest in  theological  subjects,  procure  and  furnish  us  one  ?" 
The  issue  between  the  churches  and  the  politicians  having 
now  been  drawn,  he  returned  to  the  attack  upon  these  foes 
of  righteousness,  as  he  believed  them  to  be,  again  and  again. 
In  an  editorial  of  April  16, 1851,  he  outlines  the  plan  of  a 
temperance  campaign  in  Ohio.   He  speaks  thus  to  the  preach- 


COMING   TO   THE  FRONT  RANK.  209 

ers  of  the  state :  "  Ministers  of  the  gospel,  fear  not  the  charge 
of  meddling  in  politics.  The  demagogue  may  assault  you, 
but  you  have  nothing  to  fear.  Sobriety  will  prepare  the 
way  for  the  gospel.  We  have  a  special  promise  to  plead  in 
behalf  of  the  Church,  as  if  written  in  view  of  such  men  and 
such  opposition  :  The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 

His  interest  in  politics  had  always  been  strong;  during 
the  years  of  his  early  manhood  he  had  been  a  follower  of 
Mr.  Clay  and  a  zealous  supporter  of  Mr.  Clay's  protective 
policy.  From  this  time  he  threw  off  all  political  yokes. 
The  truth  had  dawned  upon  him  that  the  country  was  to  be 
saved  by  an  appeal  to  its  conscience,  and  he  knew  that  its 
conscience  would  be  found  most  highly  developed  within 
the  churches.  As  the  questions  in  debate  were  both  moral 
and  political,  he  felt  himself  bound  to  take  part  in  the  debate ; 
he  was  accumulating  an  influence  very  unusual  for  a  minister 
or  bishop  to  wield.  He  was  making  ready  for  the  memora- 
ble years  of  his  life,  from  1861  to  1865.  The  editor  of  1848 
was  not  the  editor  of  1852.  There  had  been  rapid  growth 
in  the  four  years.  A  keen  controversialist  had  been  devel- 
oped :  capable  of  sarcasm  ;  capable,  upon  occasion,  of  being 
severely  personal.  Henceforth  his  constitutional  caution 
was  to  be  useful  as  a  saving  common-sense  which  deterred 
him  from  rash  enterprises;  but  his  equally  constitutional 
energy,  his  ambition  for  the  utmost  possible  development  of 
his  Church  and  his  country,  carried  him  forward  to  the  front 
rank  of  the  public  men  of  his  time. 

Two  letters  from  Mr.  S.  P.  Chase,  then  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  will  show  the  estimate  which  he  placed  upon 
Dr.  Simpson's  efforts  to  arouse  and  guide  public  opinion : 

"  Washington  City,  April  26, 1850. 

"  My  dear  Sir,— I  do  not  choose  to  resist  the  inclination  which  impels 
me  to  offer  to  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  manly,  and  more  than 
manly,  your  Christian  article  on  the  late  scene  in  the  Senate. 

"  You  are  right  in  the  opinion  that,  had  a  Northern  Senator  been  guilty 


270  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

of  bringing  arms  into  the  chamber,  of  using  provoking  and  insulting  lan- 
guage towards  the  Senator  oldest  in  service  and  among  the  most  distin- 
guished, and  then,  when  that  language  led  to  a  demonstration  of  intended 
chastisement  on  the  part  of  the  Senator  assailed,  had  drawn  a  pistol  for  a 
bloody  affray,  that  Northern  Senator  would  have  hardly  escaped  expul- 
sion. I  fear  you  are  right  in  the  opinion  also  that  the  Slave  Power  is 
predominant  in  the  Senate,  as  it  has  long  been  in  the  country. 

"Never  were  truer  words  uttered  than  yours:  'The  hour  of  trial  is 
upon  us,  and  though,  in  the  end,  humanity  will  triumph,  yet  personal 
duty  demands  free  and  full  utterance  now  for  every  lover  of  liberty.' 
Hardly  any  subject  can  now  more  worthily  engage  '  the  action  and  the 
prayers  of  all  true  Christians.' 

"  I  have  endeavored  to  do  a  part  of  my  duty  in  the  premises ;  not,  I 
trust,  without  some  proper  sense  of  my  responsibility  to  God,  and  not 
without  looking  to  him  for  guidance  and  direction.  I  have  sent  you 
what  I  have  spoken,  and  hope  it  may  meet  your  approval. 

"  I  wish  Colonel  Benton  were  a  Christian  indeed,  that  he  could  regard 
with  composure,  and  even  with  forgiveness,  the  reckless  assaults  made 
upon  him.  But  while  I  so  wish,  and  while  I  cannot  approve  all  he  does 
and  says,  neither  can  I  be  insensible  to  the  great  moral  courage  he  dis- 
plays, or  the  strong  sense  of  justice  and  right  which  marks  his  course  in 
the  present  struggle  between  the  Slave  Power  and  Freedom  in  relation  to 
California.  He  is,  indeed,  a  great  and  heroic  man,  and  the  country  will 
yet  appreciate  as  they  merit  his  efforts  in  this  crisis. 

"I  think  the  probability  strong  that  the  unnatural  and  forced  union 
of  the  admission  of  California  with  governments  for  the  territories  will 
be  defeated.  I  am  astonished  at  the  favor  which  it  has  found.  It  has 
always  seemed  to  me  that  the  bare  statement  of  the  proposition  would 
satisfy  any  one  that  it  was  morally  wrong.  Mr.  Benton  exposed  its  true 
nature  last  Monday  in  a  forcible  speech.  I  wish  I  had  a  copy  to  send 
you,  but  probably  you  have  seen  it  in  the  Union  or  the  Intelligencer. 
This  letter,  of  course,  is  not  designed  for  publication,  but  only  as  a 
friendly  note  to  yourself. 

"  With  sincerest  respect,  yours  truly,  S.  P.  Ciiase." 

"  Rev.  M.  Simpson." 

"Washington,  July  17,  1850. 

"  My  dear  Sir, — Your  suggestion  in  relation  to  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise line  fell  in  with  the  views  of  some  of  our  friends  here ;  but,  after 
reflection,  it  was  thought  best  to  meet  each  epiestion  as  it  arose  distinct- 
ly, and  vote  in  accordance  with  our  best  judgment  as  to  the  fitness  or 
unfitness  of  the  amendments  proposed.  I  am  now  satisfied  that,  so  far 
us  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  concerned,  this  was  the  wisest  course. 


MR.  CHASE'S  LETTERS.  271 

"  The  prospect  at  present  is  that  the  Omnibus  Bill  will  be  defeated  in 
the  Senate.  The  test  question  will  be  taken  on  a  motion  to  lay  the  bill 
on  the  table  within  a  day  or  two— perhaps  to-day.  It  ought,  in  my 
judgment,  to  have  been  taken  yesterday.  The  motion  would  have  pre- 
vailed yesterday,  and  so  divided  is  the  Senate  that  it  is  impossible  to  fore- 
see what  a  day  may  bring  forth.  Should  I  be  disappointed  in  the  expec- 
tation that  the  bill  will  be  defeated  on  that  motion,  I  shall  still  hope  for 
its  defeat  in  the  House,  but  with  less  confidence.  The  death  of  General 
Taylor  and  Mr.  Fillmore's  understood  favor  to  Messrs.  Webster,  Clay,  and 
that  side,  change  aspects  much. 

"  Yours  truly,  S.  P.  Chase." 


XIII. 
FIRST  EPISCOPAL   TOURS. 

1853,   1853. 


18 


Elected  Bishop,  May,  1852.— Gloomy  State  of  Public  Affairs.— The  Inci- 
dents of  his  Election,  as  Narrated  by  Himself. — Refuses  to  Try  to  Influ- 
ence Votes,  by  any  Word  or  Act.  —  Modest  Estimate  of  his  Fitness 
for  the  Episcopal  Office. — A  Reminder  of  his  Early  Struggles. — His 
First  Conference.  —  Holds  Pittsburgh  and  Erie  Conferences.— Gets 
Points  by  Observing  the  Administration  of  his  Elder  Colleagues. — 
Tour  up  the  Kanawha  River. — Reflections  upon  the  Closing  of  the  Old 
Year  and  the  Opening  of  the  New. — Prayer  for  Wisdom  and  Grace. — 
Meets  Gordon  D.  Battelle  —  Active  Labors  in  Pittsburgh.— A  Delayed 
Train.— Reaches  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania. — AVill  not  Travel  on  Sun- 
day.— An  Amusing  Mistake.— Unpretentious  Bearing  of  Bishop  Simp- 
son.— The  End  of  his  Diary. 


ELECTION  TO   THE  EPISCOPATE.  275 


XIII. 

In  May,  1852,  Matthew  Simpson  was  elected  a  bishop 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence then  sitting  in  the  city  of  Boston.  The  political  situa- 
tion was  gloomy.  Mr.  Clay,  who  had  captured  Simpson's 
heart  in  the  time  of  his  early  manhood,  and  who  had  been 
for  years  his  ideal  of  an  American  statesman,  was  dying, 
and  in  the  following  month  passed  away.  The  two  politi- 
cal parties,  assembled  in  convention  this  same  year,  agreed 
in  resolving  that  the  so-called  compromise  measures  were 
a  legislative  finality.  Both  called  for  peace,  but  there  was 
no  peace ;  the  country  was  ill  at  ease ;  among  the  people 
there  was  everywhere  unrest.  Honest  citizens  of  the  free 
states  were  exasperated  by  notorious  instances  of  slave 
hunting  in  their  own  neighborhoods.  The  principle  of  non- 
interference, which  was  embodied  in  that  part  of  Mr.  Clay's 
measures  relating  to  New  Mexico  and  Utah,  was  quickly 
applied  to  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  and  thus  "  Slavery  and 
Free  Labor  were  brought  face  to  face,  musket  in  hand,  for  a 
deadly  conflict  on  the  plains  of  the  West."  *  In  the  Church 
the  excitement  produced  by  the  division  of  18-i-i  had  some- 
what subsided,  and  each  of  the  two  bodies  was  pushing  its 
enterprises  forward  with  the  old-time  Methodist  vigor. 
The  discovery  of  gold  deposits  in  California  was  drawing 
to  the  Pacific  coast  thousands  of  enterprising  men,  mostly 
young  men,  and  the  Church  was  following  in  the  footsteps 
of  these  hardy  adventurers.   William  Taylor,  with  his  Bethel 

*  I  quote  here  from  Mr.  Carl  Shurz's  admirable  life  of  Henry  Clay,  to 
which  I  have  been  elsewhere  under  obligations. 


270  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

ship  and  open-air  services,  was  already  there,  and,  as  we 
understand  it,  founded  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  that  state.  The* new  bishops,  Baker,  Scott,  Ames,  and 
Simpson,  who  were  to  be  associated  with  Waugh,  Morris, 
and  Janes,  were  men  of  energy.  Scott  volunteered  at  once 
to  go  to  Liberia ;  Ames  and  Simpson  contended  with  each 
other  in  friendly  rivalry  for  the  honor  of  making  the  first 
episcopal  visitation  to  the  Pacific  slope. 

Of  his  election,  its  incidents,  and  of  his  first  self-distrust- 
ful administration  of  his  office,  Bishop  Simpson  has  left  us 
a  full  account  in  his  diary ;  and  we  shall  draw  upon  this 
freely.  Of  diary  writing  there  is  very  little  to  be  found 
among  his  papers ;  that  little,  however,  will  enable  us,  better 
than  any  other  testimony  can,  to  perceive  the  spirit  in  which 
he  lived  and  the  manner  in  which  he  looked  at  himself  and 
his  work. 

"May  25,  1852. — At  nine  o'clock  this  morning  the  General  Conference 
proceeded  to  ballot  for  four  bishops,  and  on  the  first  ballot  173  votes 
were  cast.  L.  Scott  had  113,  M.  Simpson  110,  O.  C.  Baker  90,  and  E.  R 
Ames  89,  and  were  elected.  The  next  highest  were  E.  Thomson,  G. 
Webber,  C.  Kingsley,  G.  Gary. 

'•  I  had  the  active  and  uncompromising  opposition  of  nearly  all  the  Ohio 
delegation  and  of  most  of  the  North  Ohio.  The  grounds  of  hostility  were 
that  I  was  tolerant  on  the  pew  question,*  and  that  I  had  not  travelled 
sufficiently  as  an  itinerant  preacher.  Yet  the  same  persons  supported 
Ames,  who  was  with  me  on  the  pew  question,  and  the  most  of ^t  hem  sup- 
ported Thomson,  who  had  travelled  little,  if  any,  more  than  myself.  Per- 
haps a  few  in  New  England  declined  to  vote  for  me,  as  I  had  been 
unanimously  nominated  by  the  faculty  of  the  Wesleyan  University  for  the 
presidency  of  that  institution ;  they  desired  to  retain  me  for  that  posi- 
tion. Under  these  circumstances  the  vote  I  received  was  wholly  unex- 
pected, and  deeply  impressed  me  with  the  kind  feelings  of  my  brethren. 
May  I  have  wisdom  and  grace  to  fit  me  for  the  high  responsibilities  which 

*  This  question  came  before  the  General  Conference,  on  the  appeal  of 
John  S.  Inskip,  of  the  Ohio  Conference.  He  had  permitted  mixed  sittings 
in  the  church  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  of  which  he  was  pastor.  The  General 
Conference  decided  that  the  old  rule,  "  Let  the  men  and  women  sit 
apart,-'  was  advisory  only,  not  mandatory. 


THE   OPPOSITION  TO  HIS  ELECTION.  277 

may  devolve  upon  me,  and  especially  may  I  be  led  to  a  more  thorough 
consecration  to  God  and  his  cause." 

In  an  autobiographic  sketch,  without  date,  which  he  ap- 
pears to  have  dictated  to  some  one,  he  states  more  in  de- 
tail the  circumstances  of  his  election,  and  modestly  men- 
tions his  refusal  to  as  much  as  try,  by  word  or  act,  to  influ- 
ence votes — an  example  to  be  commended  in  these  days  of 
ecclesiastical  office-seeking. 

"  The  few  of  the  brethren  of  the  West,  and  especially  of  the  Cincinnati 
Conference,  who  were  opposed  to  my  liberal  views  as  to  pewed  churches, 
and  as  to  the  erection  of  neater  and  more  beautiful  church  edifices,  were 
so  auxious  to  prevent  my  election  that  they  combined  to  vote  for  Bishop 
Ames,  and  by  that  means  defeated  their  special  favorite,  Dr.  Thomson. 
With  that  exception  there  was  no  party  question  whatever  involved  in 
the  choice.  A  few  of  the  delegates  on  the  border  thought  me  to  be  too 
anti-slavery,  and  sent  a  committee  to  question  me  upon  my  position.  I 
simply  referred  them  to  my  course  as  editor,  and  to  the  views  I  had  pub- 
licly expressed,  and  declined  to  make  any  further  expression  of  opinion 
whatever.  I  had  resolutely  and  conscientiously  refrained  from  any  ar- 
rangement with  any  person  looking  towards  securing  a  vote,  and  declined 
to  make  any  expression  which  might  be  interpreted  as  wishing  to  gain 
any  favor.  In  the  earlier  part  of  the  Conference  I  had  offended  a  few  of 
the  New  England  delegates  by  expressing  a  preference  for  free  churches; 
while  advocating  the  erection  of  a  Metropolitan  Church  in  Washington, 
I  said  I  should  like  to  have  it  as  commodious  as  the  church  in  which 
we  were  then  sitting,  and  would  be  pleased  to  have  it  in  all  respects  like 
that  church", '  save,'  as  I  pointed  to  the  pew-doors, '  these  bonds.'  Father 
Taylor,  who  afterwards  became  one  of  my  warmest  friends,  and  a  few 
others,  complained  bitterly  of  this  expression,  and  felt  for  a  time  unpleas- 
antly towards  me.  It  was  suggested  to  me  that  it  would  be  better  to 
leave  the  expression  out  of  the  report  of  my  speech,  but  I  declined  to 
have  it  done. 

"The  choice  of  my  brethren  led  me  to  very  serious  reflection.  My 
health  was  delicate ;  my  life  had  been  largely  sedentary,  and  many 
friends  doubted  whether  I  could  bear  the  fatigue  and  the  exposure  then 
connected  with  the  work  of  a  bishop.  I  had  greatly  enjoyed  the  society 
of  my  family,  and  had  several  children  in  whose  education  I  was  deeply 
interested.  But,  as  I  had  resolved  to  accept  the  voice  of  the  Church  as 
the  will  of  God,  and  as  I  had  never  solicited  in  any  manner  a  vote  as  a 


278  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

delegate  to  the  General  Conference  or  for  any  office  connected  with  it, 
I  felt  that  the  arrangement  was  wholly  providential.'1 

He  had  reached  the  episcopate  with  clean  hands  and  spot- 
less fame.  Contrary  to  the  practice  of  our  times,  he  was  an 
active  and  speaking  member  of  the  Conference  that  elected 
him.  He  did  not  consider  himself  to  be  doomed  to  silence  be- 
cause he  was  a  possible  or  probable  candidate  for  high  place. 

We  return  to  the  diary : 

"May  2G. — I  was  relieved  from  being  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ed- 
ucation. Received  many  congratulations  from  my  brethren,  and  assur- 
ances of  hearty  welcome  at  their  Conferences.  Am  very  sensible  of  many 
defects  and  infirmities. 

May  27. — This  morning  the  Lay  Delegation  Committee  made  a  report 
by  M.  Raymond,  secretary.  I  had  drawn  it  up  by  the  direction  of  the 
committee,  but  the  secretary  presented  it.*  The  vote  was  taken  by  ayes 
and  noes,  and  lest  I  might  be  thought  unwilling  to  express  an  opinion 
I  voted  aye,  though  tliey  were  willing  to  excuse  the  bishops  elect,  if 
they  desired  it.  Brothers  Scott,  Baker,  Ames,  and  myself,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Ames,  retired  to  a  committee-room,  conversed  in  reference  to  the 
ordination  ceremony,  and  spent  a  season  in  prayer,  each  engaging  in 
turn.  We  were  presented  to  the  bishops  at  eleven.  Father  Haven,  of 
Indiana,  and  Brother  Hudson,  of  Pittsburgh,  presented  me,  and  in  pres- 
ence of  an  immense  crowd  we  were  ordained,  and  invited  to  seats  by  the 
bishops. 

May  28.— This  day  it  came  my  turn  to  preside  in  Conference,  and  I 
was  very  kindly  received  and  treated  by  my  brethren.  But  few  difficult 
questions  arose,  and  I  felt  but  little  embarrassment. 

May  29.  —  Conference  sat  only  in  the  afternoon.  Met  with  bishops 
in  the  afternoon  and  also  at  night.  It  was  arranged  for  me  to  take  the 
Western  Virginia,  Pittsburgh,  Erie,  and  North  Ohio  Conferences,  and  to 
accompany  Bishop  Janes  to  Ohio  and  Cincinnati,  and  if  convenient  to 
Missouri,  and  to  go  out  in  the  fall  of  1853  to  California. 

May  30. — Being  Sabbath,  I  preached  to  a  large  congregation  in  Brom- 
field  Street  Church  with  some  liberty.  Heard  Dr.  McClintock  preach  an 
excellent  sermon  at  three  in  the  afternoon. 

*  The  report  said :  "  Having  examined  the  probable  effect  the  intro- 
duction of  Lay  Delegates  into  the  General  and  Annual  Conferences  would 
have  upon  the  interests  of  the  Church,  your  committee  are  unanimously 
of  opinion  that  such  a  change  is  inexpedient.1' 


PASSAGES  FROM  HIS  DIARY.  279 

May  31. — Conference  sat  both  forenoon  and  afternoon.  Anticipating 
a  speedy  adjournment,  I  took  some  time  to  look  for  various  articles 
which  I  needed.  At  night  bishops  Morris,  Janes,  and  Scott,  as  com- 
mittee, retired  to  make  the  Episcopal  plan,  and  I  was  called  on  to  preside. 
We  had  a  trying  time,  and  Conference  sat  until  about  ten.  The  session 
was  pleasant,  but  the  brethren  hurried  exceedingly.  Bishop  Waugh  gave 
a  very  beautiful  and  appropriate  address,  urging  to  coolness  and  delibera- 
tion. 

June  1.  —  Our  session  was  prolonged,  and  we  adjourned  about  two 
o'clock  p.m.  After  purchasing  several  articles,  I  met  with  the  bishops 
both  afternoon  and  evening  copying  Episcopal  decisions  and  advising 
in  arranging  plans. 

June  2. — Presented  revised  plan  of  study  and  plan  for  local  preachers. 
We  finished  our  consultation  about  one  p.m.  At  five  we  bade  farewell  to 
our  friends  in  Boston  and  took  cars  to  Stonington. 

June  3. — We  went  to  Mayor  Harper's  and  took  breakfast.  Went  to 
Book  Room  and  ordered  portfolio,  Journals  of  Conference,  etc.,  with  parch- 
ment, to  be  sent  by  express  to  Morgantown.  At  two  left  for  Philadelphia 
by  Amboy  route.  Stopped  at  McKibben's  for  supper,  and  at  quarter- 
before  eleven  left  in  cars  for  Pittsburgh. 

June  4. — Crossed  the  mountains  from  noon  to  five ;  had  a  very  pleas- 
ant trip.     At  night  our  stage  ride  was  unpleasant. 

June  6. — On  Sabbath  heard  Mr.  Burkitt  preach  a  missionary  sermon 
in  the  morniug.  At  two  visited  German  Sabbath-school  and  addressed 
scholars,  and  at  half-past  two  addressed  the  Smithfield  School.  At  three 
assiste'd  in  administering  the  sacrament  at  Liberty  Street,  consecrating 
the  elements.  And  at  night  preached  in  Smithfield  to  a  large  audience 
from  Rom.  xiv.  12. 

June  8.  —  At  eight  o'clock  started  on  Brownsville  boat  Atlanta  for 
Morgantown,  having  first  had  an  interview  with  Dr.  Cooke  as  to  the 
work  in  Pittsburgh,  etc.     At  Brownsville  took  stage  for  Uniontown." 

Uniontown  reminds  him  of  his  early  struggles  for  knowl- 
edge, and  he  writes  thus  to  his  wife,  under  date  of  June  10th : 

"  Uniontown  to  me  has  some  pleasant  reminiscences.  Nearly  twenty- 
four  years  ago  I  entered  it  one  afternoon,  as  a  poor  student,  having  walked 
from  Cadiz,  Ohio,  carrying  my  clothes  and  books  in  a  budget  on  my  back. 
I  left  home  with  a  few  clothes,  a  few  books,  and  eleven  dollars  in  money 
to  enter  upon  a  college  course  among  strangers.  I  could  not  afford  a 
stage  passage,  nor  could  I  well  afford  to  pay  for  regular  meals,  and  hence 
I  got  but  one  meal  a  day,  and  lived  on  cakes  for  the  other  two  till  I 


280  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

reached  the  town.  Then  I  called  on  Dr.  Elliott,  entered  on  my  studies, 
was  needed  as  a  teacher,  and  in  a  few  weeks  was  elected  tutor.  Change 
after  change  has  since  occurred,  until  this  evening  I  entered  it  again  by 
the  same  road  on  which  I  travelled  then." 

HIS   FIKST    CONFERENCE. 

"  June  10. — This  morning  Conference  commenced  at  nine  o'clock.  Af- 
ter prayer  and  singing  twice  I  addressed  the  preachers  a  few  minutes, 
and  after  the  election  of  a  secretary,  adoption  of  rules,  appointment  of 
committees,  at  half-past  ten  o'clock  Conference  adjourned,  as  by  previous 
order  a  sermon  was  to  be  delivered  at  eleven.  Mr.  Martin  gave  us  an 
excellent  discourse  from  '  Whosoever  shall  confess,'  etc. 

June  17.— Conference  continued  in  session  until  Wednesday  evening. 
It  was  a  very  pleasant  session.  I  was  very  kindly  received  by  the  pre- 
siding elders,  and  we  had  comparatively  little  trouble  in  making  our 
arrangements.  We  sat  one  night  till  near  one ;  other  nights  we  adjourned 
about  ten.  Saturday  evening  a  missionary  anniversary  was  held  ;  the 
speakers  were  Mr.  Hunter  and  myself.  On  Sabbath  I  preached  at  eleven, 
and  after  sermon  ordained  fifteen  deacons.  After  three-o'clock  sermon  I 
ordained  eight  elders.  On  Monday  afternoon  spoke  at  Sunday-school 
anniversary,  and  at  night,  holding  first  a  short  cabinet  session,  we  at- 
tended sacramental  meeting. 

June  18. — On  yesterday  afternoon  I  left  Morgantown  at  half-past  three, 
having  to  wait  for  the  stage  from  nine  in  the  morning  until  that  time. 
When  it  came  it  was  but  a  miserable  hack.  We  had  five  passengers; 
among  them  was  Mr.  King,  of  the  Cincinnati  Conference.  After  riding 
and  walking  alternately,  we  arrived  at  Uniontown — twenty-five  miles — 
at  half-past  three  in  the  morning,  having  made  the  journey  in  twelve 
hours  !  At  half-past  four  took  stage  for  Brownsville,  and  after  breakfast 
went  aboard  the  steamer  Atlanta  for  Pittsburgh,  where  I  arrived  about 
four. 

June  22.— Started  in  a  stage  at  six  for  Washington,  Penn.,  and  ar- 
rived at  twelve.  Found  my  lodging  at  Bro.  Hazlctt's.  At  three  invited 
in  the  elders  and  commenced  preparing  our  circuits  and  districts." 

In  holding  the  Pittsburgh  Conference  he  is  among  the 
friends  of  his  youth,  and  opens  it  with  characteristic  mod- 
esty.    We  follow  the  diary  : 

"  June  23.  —  At  half-past  eight  commenced  Conference.  After  two 
prayers  gave  an  address,  referring  to  my  inexperience,  my  early  minis- 
try, the  duties  of  the  Conference,  etc.,  etc.     During  the  session  I  gave  a 


HOLDS  HIS  SECOND    CONFERENCE.  281 

Sabbath-school  address  and  also  spoke  at  the  Missionary  Anniversary. 
Preached  on  Sunday  at  eleven.  A  number  of  gentlemen  sent  me  a 
note  on  Monday  requesting  me  to  preach  again,  and  in  the  Presbyterian 
church ;  the  pastor  called  upon  me  to  join  in  the  invitation,  but  I  was 
so  hurried  I  was  compelled  to  decline.  Sat  up  very  late  at  night  on 
Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  and  on  Thursday  night  until  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  Conference  met  at  five  in  the  morning  to  receive  the  ap- 
pointments. Generally  they  were  satisfactory,  but  a  few  were  greatly 
disappointed. 

August  23. — Started  for  North  Ohio  Conference,  stopped  at  Mr.  Gill's  at 
Cleveland.    Left  Cleveland  next  noon  and  arrived  in  Delaware  about  five. 

August  25. — Conference  commenced  with  several  prayers,  and  I  gave 
an  address.  I  applied  myself  closely  to  appointments,  and  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  the  work  progress  without  as  much  loss  of  sleep  as  at 
some  previous  conferences.  On  Sabbath  preached  with  much  liberty  and 
ordained  deacons ;  in  the  afternoon  ordained  elders. 

Monday  afternoon  I  was  greatly  gratified  by  the  arrival  of  Bishop 
Janes,  who  came  to  Delaware  to  see  the  Conference,  though  it  was  out 
of  his  route  to  the  Ohio  Conference.  He  sat  with  us  in  council  in  the 
evening,  and  we  conversed  until  a  late  hour.  He  had  a  severe  chill  and 
suffered  much  pain  during  the  night.  In  the  morning  he  attended  Con- 
ference, and  tried  to  get  volunteers  for  California.  He  also  gave  a  short 
address  to  the  Conference,  and  left  for  Zanesville. 

Sept.  1. — Conference  closed  its  session  at  eleven  on  Wednesday,  and  I 
left  for  Zanesville — but  on  reaching  the  station  found  the  cars  were  de- 
tained ;  they  did  not  arrive  for  an  hour  and  a  half  after  their  time.  The 
result  was  that  they  failed  to  make  the  connection  at  Shelby,  and  I  was 
compelled  to  stay  at  Shelby  until  next  afternoon.  This  was  unpleasant,  as 
I  wished  to  join  Bishop  Janes  at  the  Ohio  Conference." 

This,  the  Ohio,  was  one  of  Bishop  Janes's  Conferences, 
and  the  young  bishop  is  anxious  to  profit  by  the  experience 
of  his  senior  colleague.  He  writes  thus  to  Mrs.  Simpson, 
Sept.  3  : 

"  I  feel  somewhat  relieved  from  the  pressure  of  Confer- 
ence duties,  though  I  have  considerable  trouble  with  the 
work  in  Cleveland,  and  will  probably  have  a  storm  in  Mans- 
field. Otherwise,  I  should  have  a  breathing-spell,  as  far  as 
deep  mental  anxiety  is  concerned.  I  shall  go  through  this 
Conference,  Xenia,  and  St.  Louis,  with  Bishop  Janes,  and 


282  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

shall  probably  learn  something  which  will  be  of  service 
to  me." 

"We  resume  the  diary : 

"  Sept.  3. — Conference  proceeded  pleasantly.  I  was  welcomed  cor- 
dially. I  addressed  the  Sabbath-school  Anniversary  in  Seventh  Street 
church,  as  also,  along  with  Bishop  Janes,  the  Missionary  Society,  and 
preached  by  request  on  the  same  subject  as  at  the  North  Ohio  Confer- 
ence.   The  session  closed  on  Monday  night  about  eleven  o'clock. 

Sept.  20.  —  Left  for  Cincinnati  Conference  at  Xenia.  General  Scott  was 
on  the  train,  and  at  every  station  large  crowds  were  collected  to  see  and 
hear  the  veteran  soldier  and  presidential  aspirant.  He  is  evidently  not 
a  man  of  the  people  as  was  General  Taylor.  He  is  rather  cold,  and  the 
effort  to  be  bland  and  familiar  sits  rather  awkwardly  upon  him.  At 
Cleveland  he  was  received  with  firing  of  cannon,  and  stopped  for  the 
night.  I  passed  on  for  Columbus  by  a  night  train  just  started  and  poorly 
arranged.  But  the  engine  gave  out,  and  we  were  detained  several  hours, 
failing  to  make  a  junction  next  morning  at  Columbus. 

Se/jt.  21. — When  about  starting  out  the  Cleveland  train  arrived,  bear- 
ing General  Scott.  Cannon  were  fired  amid  the  huzzas  of  the  crowd,  but 
one  poor  fellow,  loading  too  quickly,  was  blown  almost  to  pieces.  His 
eyes  were  put  out,  his  limbs  broken,  and  the  flesh  torn  from  part  of  his 
chest.  Even  the  semblance  of  war  has  its  horrors.  That  weeping  wife 
must  ever  hate  the  cannon's  roar. 

Sept.  22. — Conference  [the  Cincinnati]  commenced,  Bishop  Morris  at- 
tending from  Thursday  with  Bishop  Janes.  They  sat  in  council  all  the 
time.  I  sjjoke  at  the  anniversaries  and  attended  Conference  during  the 
sessions  when  the  council  could  be  spared.  I  preached  on  Sabbath  at 
three,  ordaining  deacons,  after  Bishop  Morris,  at  eleven.  Conference 
closed  on  Thursday  night." 

After  the  close  of  the  Cincinnati  Conference  he  went  to 
St.  Louis,  in  company  with  Bishop  Janes,  to  attend  Confer- 
ence there.  Bishop  Janes  presided ;  Bishop  Morris  was  also 
present.  The  junior  bishop  was  still  anxious  to  secure  from 
his  colleagues  points  of  information,  and  used  his  opportu- 
nity to  the  best  possible  advantage.  From  St.  Louis  he 
writes  to  his  wife  : 

"Oct.  S,  1852. 
"You  say  in  your  second  letter,  forwarded  to  me  yesterday  from  Cin- 
cinnati, that  you  wish  me  to  write  every  day,  as  it  comforts  you  in  afflic- 


A    TRIP  TO    WEST  VIRGINIA.  283 

tion.  If  I  can  add,  by  any  act  of  mine,  to  your  comfort  I  will  gladly  do 
it,  and  hence,  while  sitting  in  Conference,  I  steal  a  few  moments  to  write. 
But  let  me  say  that  I  should  enjoy  a  letter  occasionally  as  well  as  yourself. 

"  Conference  is  progressing  pretty  briskly,  and  I  presume  that,  by  the 
time  this  reaches  you,  it  will  be  drawing  to  a  close.  Bishop  Ames  ar- 
rived last  evening  in  excellent  health  and  spirits.  He  is  enjoying  his 
visit  to  the  Western  Conferences  very  much,  and  is,  I  learn,  very  popu- 
lar. He  would  be  very  glad  to  have  me  go  with  him,  but  I  have  begged 
off,  as  you  are  not  in  very  good  health  and  just  commencing  housekeep- 
ing. Yet  I  really  sympathized  with  him,  and  if  my  visiting  his  Confer- 
ence had  allowed  him  to  go  home  I  should  have  felt  half  inclined  to  it, 
as  he  has  not  seen  his  family  since  the  28th  of  July.  How  would  you 
like  to  have  that  kind  of  absence  ? 

"  Be  careful  of  your  health.  Be  cheerful.  Look  aloft.  The  stars  dis- 
play their  beauty  to  us  only  when  we  look  at  them ;  and  if  we  look  down 
at  the  earth  our  hearts  are  never  charmed.  Be  resolved  to  be  happy  to- 
day—to be  joyful  now — and  out  of  every  fleeting  moment  draw  all  possi- 
ble pure  and  lasting  pleasure.'* 

Being  greatly  interested  in  the  condition  of  our  Church 
in  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  he  made  a  tour  of  inspection 
and  preaching  up  the  Great  Kanawha  River,  starting  from 
Parkersburg,  and  thence  down  the  Ohio  to  Point  Pleasant. 
As  between  the  two  Methodist  churches — North  and  South 
— this  was  contested  ground.  Many  of  the  people  had  ad- 
hered to  us,  and  Bishop  Simpson  wished  to  strengthen  all 
such  and  to  make  plans  for  the  future.  During  this  tour  he 
was  much  in  company  with  the  Rev.  Gordon  D.  Battelle, 
who  afterwards  did  much  in  forming  the  Constitution  of 
West  Virginia  as  a  free  state.* 

*  In  his  autobiographic  sketch  Bishop  Simpson  speaks  thus  of  Mr.  Bat- 
telle :  "  To  no  two  men  was  Western  Virginia  so  much  indebted  for  its 
separate  state  form,  its  freedom  from  slavery,  and  its  common-school  sys- 
tem as  to  Gordon  D.  Battelle  and  F.  H.  Pierpont,  its  first  governor.  They 
were  fellow-students,  room-mates  in  Allegheny  College,  and  were  closely 
identified  both  in  sympathy  and  in  judgment.  Governor  Pierpont  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  but  retained  his  life- 
long attachment  to  Mr.  Battelle."  This  modest  Methodist  preacher  was 
a  statesman  of  the  highest  order. 


284:  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"  Parkershurg,  Dec.  25.— This  morning  wrote  in  my  diary.  Preached  at 
eleven  from  the  angelic  song, '  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,'  etc.,  to  a  small 
congregation,  and  went  with  Mr.  Logan  to  dinner;  after  which  I  finished 
writing  up  this  diary  to  the  present  time.  This  will  accouut  for  many  imper- 
fections, and  especially  for  the  lack  of  an  account  of  my  religious  experi- 
ence. As  I  did  not  record  from  day  to  day,  so  I  could  not  speak  of  my 
position  and  enjoyments.  Now,  however,  I  have  brought  it  up  to  the  pres- 
ent afternoon,  and  hope  to  be  more  punctual  in  noting  events  as  they  occur. 
May  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  endow  me  with  wisdom  and  grace,  that 
I  may  serve  him  acceptably  and  finish  my  course  with  joy.  I  fear  that  my 
conversation  is  not  sufficiently  seasoned  with  grace  to  the  use  of  edifying. 
May  my  every  act  be  as  in  the  presence  of  him  who  searcheth  the  heart. 
At  night  I  preached  from  1  John  v.  4,  to  a  very  full  house  ;  there  was  con- 
siderable feeling,  but  I  preached  too  long,  and  I  feared  my  voice  might  be 
impaired  for  to-morrow's  services.  Oh,  how  little  good  follows  my  pulpit 
labors  in  comparison  with  what  would  follow  were  I  in  the  full  spirit  of 
my  mission,  and  could  preach  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven. 
May  my  Heavenly  Father  lead  me  into  the  full  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
and  may  I  serve  him  with  sincerity  all  the  days  of  my  life. 

j)eCt  26.  —  This  morning  I  awoke  early,  but,  having  had  a  sleepless 
night,  I  rested  for  a  while.  The  habits  of  the  people  in  Virginia  are  not 
of  as  early  rising  as  in  the  free  states,  and  here,  late  as  I  was,  I  was  still 
in  advance  of  the  family.  I  feel  somewhat  the  hoarseness  of  last  evening. 
The  continued  rains  for  some  days  past  until  yesterday  have  swollen  the 
waters  and  this  morning  the  Ohio  is  nearly  level  with  its  banks.  At- 
tended love-feast  at  nine,  preached  at  eleven  from  John  xvii.  22,  assisted 
in  the  administration  of  the  sacrament  at  three,  and  preached  at  night 
from  Romans  xiv.  12.  It  has  been  a  busy  day,  and  I  have  borne  my  la- 
bors better  than  in  the  morning  I  thought  was  probable. 

Dec.  28.— At  night  preached  from  Job  xiv.  14,  and  after  service  went 
to  the  wharf  boat  to  sleep,  but,  between  high  water,  and  storms  of  wind 
aud  rain,  and  taking  passengers,  I  got  but  little  sleep.  Took  passage  on 
the  Buckeye  at  three.  While  sleeping,  about  half-past  five,  there  was  a 
crash  succeeded  by  another  and  still  another,  and,  hearing  persons  run- 
ning, I  sprang  from  my  berth,  but  found  that  the  boat,  in  trying  to  land, 
had  encountered  some  brush.  Sleep,  however,  left  me,  and  I  did  not  lie 
down  again.  About  eleven  arrived  at  Point  Pleasant,  Ohio,  and  stopped 
at  Colonel  Sly's  Hotel.  Mrs.  Sly  is  a  member  of  our  Church,  and  from 
her  I  learned  that  no  appointment  had  been  received,  but  she  immedi- 
ately put  one  in  circulation  for  evening  preaching.  I  also  learned  that 
no  boat  goes  up  the  Kanawha  until  Wednesday  night,  and  perhaps  not 
until  Thursday  night. 


PASSAGES  FROM  HIS  DIARY.  285 

For  various  reasons  I  am  much  depressed.  My  heart  greatly  needs  a 
deeper  work  of  grace.  I  labor  in  some  respects  sufficiently — indeed,  I 
feel  sometimes  that  I  cannot  bear  the  physical  efforts  I  make,  together 
•with  the  mental  excitement  under  which  I  suffer,  but  must  soon  wear 
down  to  the  grave — and  yet  my  heart  is  not  right.  It  requires  a  some- 
thing not  yet  possessed  to  make  me  victorious  over  all  my  infirmities  and 
temptations,  and  give  me  triumph  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  A  pure 
heart,  a  simplicity  of  purpose,  thorough  self-denial,  and  all-conquering 
faith  and  love,  I  greatly  need.  Oh,  that  I  did  even  now  cast  myself  fully 
upon  the  atoning  merit  of  Christ,  who  forgiveth  all  sin  and  cleanseth 
from  all  iniquity.     I  need  to  be  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Point  Pleasant,  Dec.  29. — Preached  to  a  small  audience  last  night,  as- 
sembled in  the  Methodist  church.  It  is  a  neat  building  as  to  walls,  and 
is  very  delightfully  situated  as  to  the  population,  but  is  on  ground  sub- 
ject to  overflow.  It  is  unfinished,  being  seated  but  not  plastered.  I  gave 
out  an  appointment  for  to-night,  conditioned  upon  my  inability  to  get  a 
boat  up  the  Kanawha.  The  church  is  held  by  us  and  also  the  Southern 
Methodists,  each  occupying  it  alternately.  The  Southern  Methodists 
have  been  very  bitter,  and  much  bad  feeling  has  existed,  and  yet  we  num- 
ber only  twenty-five  or  thirty,  with  but  two  men ;  they  number  about  as 
many,  but  they  come  from  a  greater  distance  and  have  two  or  three  men. 
Presbyterians  are  weak  and  have  one  man,  and  I  learn  that  the  Episco- 
palians are  very  few.     The  women  generally  belong  to  some  church. 

This  morning  rose  tolerably  early.  It  is  a  clear,  cold,  beautiful  morn- 
ing, and  the  river  is  beginning  to  fall.  I  feel  less  fatigued,  but  I  greatly 
need  a  purified  heart ;  oue  washed  and  quickened  by  redeeming  blood. 

Dec.  31. — My  rest  last  night  was  considerably  broken,  as  I  supposed  a 
boat  might  arrive,  and  I  was  anxious  to  secure  my  passage.  Hence  I  rose 
frequently,  but  it  did  not  come  until  half-past  eight  in  the  morning.  At 
that  hour,  after  taking  my  baggage  to  the  boat,  I  called  for  Miss  Thomas, 
who  accompanied  me  to  Charleston,  and  we  left  Point  Pleasant  in  the 
Salem  at  half-past  nine.  The  land  along  the  Kanawha  is  poorly  culti- 
vated, but  there  is  a  rich  and  fertile  soil  in  the  bottoms  which  skirt  the 
stream.  Seams  of  coal  are  seen  occasionally  cropping  out,  and  there 
must  be  much  mineral  wealth  along  the  river.  The  mouth  of  the  Poco- 
taligo  must  furnish  a  town  yet  of  some  note.  Enterprise  is  greatly  need- 
ed in  every  department. 

This  is  the  last  day  of  the  year.  Alas,  how  poorly  I  have  spent  its 
fleeting  moments  !  How  many  missteps  I  have  made — how  many  errors 
have  I  committed — how  little  spirituality  have  I  cultivated  !  When  I  re- 
flect on  my  life,  I  can  but  wonder  and  adore.  Oh,  the  depth  of  that  mercy 
which  may  save  even  me  !    My  time  has  gone  to  waste — my  sands  of  life 


286  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

are  ebbing  out.  Shall  I  ever  live  more  to  God's  glory  ?  I  trust  I  shall. 
And  yet  so  often  have  I  formed  good  resolutions,  and  so  fearfully  have  I 
broken  them,  that  I  distrust  myself.  I  can  confide  alone  in  the  redeem- 
ing fuluess  of  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  May  Tie,  at  the  close  of  this  year, 
even  now  while  I  write,  wash  away  all  my  past  offenses,  forgive  all  my 
iniquities,  and  make  me  a  new  creature.  Nothing  but  creating  power  is 
sufficient  to  reinstate  me  in  God's  image  and  to  purify  and  invigorate 
all  my  faculties. 

We  are  now  running  at  a  moderate  rate  up  the  Kanawha,  and  bid 
fair  to  reach  Charleston  a  little  after  dark.  The  day  is  chilly,  and  the 
atmosphere  and  clouds  indicate  a  fall  of  snow.  A  pleasant  company  is 
on  the  boat,  but  there  are  a  few  gamblers  constantly  engaged  in  betting 
on  cards.  I  arrived  at  Charleston  about  seven  p.m.,  and  was  met  cor- 
dially by  Mr.  Battelle  and  taken  to  Ids  house.  He  informs  me  that  ap- 
pointments had  been  made  for  me  at  eleven  to-day  and  to-night  at  Mai- 
den, as  the  boat  was  expected  up  at  the  latest  this  morning.  I  regret  the 
disappointment,  but  it  could  not  be  avoided.  To-night,  1852  is  passing 
away.  Its  record  is  almost  finished,  and  while  I  write  these  lines  between 
ten  and  eleven  at  night  its  minutes  are  rapidly  diminishing.  How  stands 
the  record  of  my  life  as  written  by  Omniscience  ?  I  solemnly  ask  myself 
how  am  I  closing  this  year?  How  mixed  are  human  motives  when 
closely  scanned!  How  shall  man  be  pure  in  the  sight  of  his  Maker? 
Happy  would  I  be,  could  I  feel  that  singleness  of  purpose  which  makes 
the  whole  body  full  of  light,  that  purity  of  heart  which  sees  God  in  ev- 
erything— and  that  full  consecration  which  devotes  every  moment  to  the 
divine  service.  May  He  who  has  protected  me  this  far  protect  me  still, 
and  may  I  be  washed  from  every  stain,  and  be  prepared  for  glorifying 
God  in  my  body  and  my  spirit  which  are  his. 

Jan.  1, 1853. — The  new  year  has  opened  upon  me  in  Charleston,  Vir- 
ginia, and  is  wintry  in  its  aspects — a  cold  rain  has  been  falling  during 
the  night  and  still  continues. 

This  morning  as  the  clock  in  an  adjoining  room  struck  two  I  awoke 
and  knelt  down  by  my  bedside,  to  ask  for  wisdom  and  grace  to  guide 
me  through  this  New  Year,  or  through  such  part  of  it  as  I  may  live.  I 
think  I  felt  truly  grateful,  that  I  had  been  spared  to  witness  the  begin- 
ning of  another  year,  and  that  Deatli  had  not  been  commissioned  to  cut 
mo  down.  Oh,  that  my  life  may  be  free  from  the  defects  of  the  past,  and 
that  I  may  truly  do  the  will  of  my  great  Creator.  For  this  I  need  for- 
giveness of  the  past,  purifying  grace  for  the  present,  and  animating  and 
quickening  power  from  on  high. 

I  should  on  entering  on  the  New  Year  aim  at  a  higher  life  than  ever 
heretofore — I  should  seek  to  cultivate  and  guard  my  physical  powers  so 


PREACHING  IN  PITTSBURGH.  287 

that  I  may  be  able  to  labor  most  successfully— I  should  redeem  time,  con- 
versing less  with  friends,  and  especially  on  topics  other  than  the  Church 
and  its  institutions  and  personal  holiness.  I  should  deny  myself  every 
pleasure  that  my  judgment  does  not  approve  as  being  in  accordance  with 
growth  in  grace.  Aud  I  should  study  to  do  in  every  possible  manner 
God's  holy  will. 

I  rose  at  six  this  morning,  and,  after  bathing,  read  three  chapters  in  the 
beginning  of  the  Old  Testament  aud  two  in  the  New.  I  purpose  a  regular 
reading  after  this  general  method. 

Jan.  2.— This  morning  rose  about  five,  and  read  my  lessons  in  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments.  I  was  also  forcibly  impressed  with  a  passage  in 
the  Apocrypha— Ecclesiasticus— touching  the  tendency  of  God's  Word  to 
impart  elevated  views.  After  breakfast  rode  into  Charleston  about  nine. 
The  morning  was  pleasantly  cool,  and  a  heavy  fog  rested  upon  the  river's 
bank.  At  eleven  I  preached  from  Luke  xxiv.  46,  47,  to  a  good  congrega- 
tion. Yet  in  no  place  have  I  seen  those  large  congregations  which  in- 
dicate any  general  interest  in  the  public  mind. 

Jan.  5.— Rested  tolerably  well  last  night.  Rose  rather  late  also,  but 
finished  my  usual  lessons.  I  am  told  that  on  Sunday  night  some  three 
negroes  ran  away,  crossing  the  Ohio,  taking  some  of  their  effects  with 
them  —  two  men  and  one  woman  —  and  that  they  have  not  since  been 
heard  from.  I  am  also  told  that  it  is  comparatively  seldom  that  a  fugi- 
tive negro  is  retaken.  If  this  is  the  case  it  seems  probable  that  the  un- 
certainty of  holding  negroes  as  slaves  will  cause  owners  to  sell  them  far- 
ther South,  and  that  the  land  along  the  river  will  be  settled  by  free  la- 
borers, and  if  so  a  spirit  of  enterprise  will  be  awakened  and  lands  must 
rise  in  value.  From  having  visited  the  Kanawha  valley  I  am  more  aud 
more  satisfied  that  with  any  enterprise  Point  Pleasant  must  become  a 
place  of  considerable  note." 

After  his  return  home  from  Western  Virginia,  he  occu- 
pied himself  with  abundant  labors  in  and  near  Pittsburgh. 
The  entries  in  the  diary  are  chiefly  noteworthy,  as  showing 
his  restless  activity : 

"  Jan.  9.— This  clay  preached  in  the  morning  at  Beaver  Street,  Alle- 
ghanytown,  from  Psalms  cxxxvii.  5,  6,  to  a  well-filled  house,  their  ordi- 
nary congregation.  At  night  preached  in  South  Pittsburgh  to  a  good 
house  from  Ephesians  i.  13, 14.  Prospects  seem  to  be  brightening.  My 
labors  in  the  pulpit  I  fear  are  beginning  to  affect  my  eyes — too  much 
blood  I  think  flows  to  my  head.  But  I  dislike  the.  thought  of  ceasing  to 
set  an  example  of  earnestness  in  the  Christian  ministry — either  in  man- 


2SS  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

ner  or  in  quantity  of  labor.  "Were  I  sure  it  is  an  injury,  duty  would  re- 
quire me  to  cease. 

March  13. — Pittsburgh :  This  has  been  a  Sabbath  of  toil.  Last  night 
Matilda  received  a  severe  fall  from  our  front  steps,  occasioning  concussion 
of  the  brain  to  some  extent,  and  I  felt  fearful  of  cerebral  excitement  fol- 
lowing. Hence  I  had  but  little  sleep.  This  morning  she  was  better, 
but  lias  been  confined  to  her  bed  all  day.  At  half-past  ten  I  preached  in 
Liberty  Street  to  a  very  full  house  from  2  Peter  i.  19 :  '  We  have  a  more 
sure  word,'  etc.  After  dinner  Dr.  Sellers  called,  and  we  had  a  long  con- 
versation on  Christian  experience,  embracing  particularly  the  witness  of 
the  Spirit,  and  the  relation  of  the  subjective  to  the  objective  in  religion. 
At  night  preached  in  Wesley  Chapel  to  a  full  house  from  2  Corinthians 
iii,  18.  The  house  was  excessively  hot,  and  I  did  not  enjoy  myself  in  my 
labors.  My  personal  condition  in  religion  is  far  from  satisfactory  to  my- 
self. I  have  not  that  clear,  abiding,  and  constant  sense  of  the  presence 
and  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  I  believe  is  the  Christian's 
privilege,  nor  have  I  the  full  experience  that  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanseth 
from  all  unrighteousness  that  the  Scriptural  warrant  authorizes  the  be- 
liever to  expect.  May  that  experience  in  all  its  blessed  fulness  speedily 
be  mine. 

April  29. — This  morning  had  made  my  arrangements  to  leave  for  New 
York  Conference,  via  Philadelphia,  but  Mrs.  S.  had  been  so  sick  through 
the  night  that  she  was  unwilling  for  me  to  leave,  so  I  remained  until 
evening.  At  nine  o'clock  took  cars.  I  felt  rather  depressed  leaving 
Mrs.  S.  so  ill,  and  to  be  absent  from  home  so  many  weeks.  Slept  but  lit- 
tle through  the  night,  and  at  daybreak  reached  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tain. At  the  foot  of  the  long  descending  plane  a  freight  car  was  oil"  the 
track  and  detained  us  near  an  hour.  I  walked  over  two  of  the  levels 
and  down  two  of  the  planes  before  the  train  came  up.  It  was  a  beauti- 
ful, clear  morning.  The  atmosphere  was  pure  and  bracing,  and  the  wild 
mountain  scenery  was  inspiring.  The  dark  foliage  of  the  pines,  inter- 
spersed now  and  then  witli  the  buds  and  blossoms  and  leaves  of  light 
green,  the  tall  peaks  of  the  mountains,  and  the  deep  pre^nces,  amid 
which  here  and  there  could  be  seen  the  silvery,  winding  Juniata,  yet  but 
a  little  stream,  whose  waters  gently  reflected  the  morning  light,  all  im- 
pressed me  with  a  love  of  nature.  I  desire  above  all  to  feel  an  increasing 
love  for  its  great  Creator,  my  glorious  Redeemer. 

April  30. — The  delay  of  the  train  consumed  our  time  so  that  when  we 
arrived  at  the  Mountain  House  the  Eastern  train  had  just  started.  The 
passengers  generally  were  much  out  of  humor,  as  we  had  seen  the  train 
or  the  smoke  of  the  engine  as  it  moved  off.  The  presumption  was  that 
it  was  perhaps  designed  to  keep  us  at  the  Mountain  House  during  the 


A  SUNDAY  IN  LANCASTER,  PENN.  2S9 

day;  and  hence  a  large  portion  of  the  company  started  for  Hollidays- 
burgh,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  distant.  Thinking  I  could  find  as 
much,  if  not  more,  retirement  there,  and  could  also  see  the  village,  I  ac- 
companied them,  and  stopped  at  the  hotel.  After  breakfast  Mr.  Bell,  a 
broker,  who  learned  I  was  a  minister  but  did  not  know  who,  asked  me 
over  to  his  office,  where  I  wrote  letters  and  also  a  sketch  for  the  Western 
Christian  Advocate.  After  dinner  wrote  this  entry  in  my  diary.  Thus 
delayed  upon  my  journey,  I  am  closing  the  last  day  of  April.  Time  flies 
away.     Alas,  how  poorly  improved  !" 

He  reached  Lancaster,  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  after 
midnight  Saturday.  As  he  would  not  travel  on  Sunday,  he 
tarried  in  that  city  till  Monday  morning.  "While  there  oc- 
curred the  amusing  incident,  so  often  quoted.  He  thus  tells 
the  story  in  a  letter  to  his  wife : 

"Lancaster,  May  1,  1853. 

"  A  bright  and  beautiful  day  is  this,  but  my  mind  anxiously  reverts  to 
Pittsburgh  and  inquires  for  your  health.  After  spending  the  day  in  Hol- 
lidaysburgh  and  surveying  the  various  churches,  etc.,  I  returned  to  the 
Mountain  House  and  took  the  train.  At  Lancaster  I  stopped,  as  it  was 
after  midnight,  and  I  could  not  reach  Philadelphia  until  six  or  seven  in 
the  morning.  Brother and  wife  kept  on.  How  ministers  can  recon- 
cile Sabbath  travelling  with  a  sense  of  duty  I  cannot  tell. 

"  I  preached  to-day  for  Mr.  Bishop,  who  is  the  stationed  minister.  I 
introduced  myself  to  him,  telling  him  that  my  name  was  Simpson,  and 
that  I  was  from  Pittsburgh.  Finding  that  I  was  a  minister,  he  asked  me 
to  preach,  and  introduced  me  to  the  congregation  as  Brother  Simpson, 
from  Pittsburgh.  Going  into  the  pulpit,  he  asked  me  if  I  belonged  to 
the  Pittsburgh  Conference.  I  told  him  not  now;  that  I  had  belonged  to 
it.  After  I  had  preached  he  took  my  hand  and  apologized ;  said  he  had 
not  thought  of  my  being  bishop  till  I  was  preaching,  and  told  the  con- 
gregation that  they  had  been  listening  to  Bishop  Simpson,  etc.  AVhether 
they  thought  any  more  of  the  sermon  for  the  name  I  cannot  tell.  Mr. 
Bishop,  notwithstanding  this  little  blunder,  is  a  very  fine  man,  an  excel- 
ent  preacher,  and  is  greatly  beloved." 

A  sharper-sighted  man  than  the  Lancaster  pastor  might 
readily  have  failed  to  recognize  a  bishop  under  the  plain  out- 
ward appearance  of  the  Rev.  Matthew  Simpson.     Episcopal 
manner,  if  there  be  such,  ho  never  had  and  heartily  de- 
19 


290  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

spisecl.  To  move  among  his  countrymen  as  an  unpretend- 
ing, equal  fellow-citizen  was  the  study  of  his  life.  His  dress 
was  wholly  unclerical,  not  even  the  customary  white  neck- 
tie indicating  his  vocation.  Besides,  there  was  ascribed  to 
him  by  his  friends  at  this  period  of  his  life  an  ungainliness 
of  manner  which  gave  him  the  air  of  a  good,  wholesome 
la}T  preacher  from  a  rural  district.  A  certain  lack  of  grace 
must  have  been  visible,  for  it  is  a  point  of  frequent  mention 
in  the  newspaper  notices  of  the  period.  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  in  hats  he  was  always  weak :  this  important 
article  of  clothing,  as  he  wore  it,  usually  looked  as  if  it  had 
been  tumbled  about  in  a  crowded  mass-meeting.  Bishop 
Hurst  tells  me  that  once,  when  visiting  the  Germany  and 
Switzerland  Conference,  Bishop  Simpson  appeared  before 
the  astonished  brethren  in  a  steamer  cap  which  was  neither 
beautiful  nor  graceful.  Immediately  after  the  first  session 
of  the  body  he  was  taken  by  them  to  a  hatter's  and  prop- 
erly habited.  In  later  life  this  indifference  to  the  details  of 
dress  was  not  noticeable.  His  manners,  however,  were  al- 
ways engaging ;  no  one  could  be  more  scrupulously,  and  at 
the  same  time  quietly,  attentive  to  every  point  of  courtesy. 
He  reached  Kingston,  the  place  of  the  meeting  of  the 
New  York  Conference,  in  good  season,  with  a  day  to  spare. 
He  thus  notes  one  or  two  items  : 

"  May  5. — This  evening  Bishop  Janes  arrived,  and  I  find  his  aid  in  the 
council-room  very  valuable.  Yesterday  I  had  a  very  severe  attack  of 
pain  in  the  region  of  the  heart,  which  compelled  me  for  some  hours  to 
suspend  my  duties  and  dismiss  the  elders.  It  was  a  strong  admonition 
to  be  always  ready.    Oh,  for  a  closer  walk  witli  God  !" 

He  writes  from  Kingston  a  letter  to  his  wife,  and  in  it 
mentions  his  recovery  : 

"Kingston,  Saturday  morning. 
•'  I  was  interrupted  in  writing  on  yesterday  ;  this  morning  I  feel  mod- 
erately well.     Bishop  Janes  arrived  last  night  and  will  stay  till  Monday 
evening,  when  he  leaves  for  the  New  Hampshire  Conference.     Bishop 
Waugh  will  pass  within  two  or  Jhree  miles  of  this  place  either  to-day  or 


CLOSE   OF  HIS  DIARY.  291 

on  Monday,  and  it  is  possible  he  may  turn  aside  to  see  us.  Thus  far  I 
have  heard  nothing  from  home.  I  hope,  however,  that  you  are  in  good 
health  and  spirits.  It  is  matter  of  consolation  to  know  that  we  are  in 
the  hands  of  a  merciful  and  all-wise  Providence,  who  numbers  the  very 
hairs  of  our  heads,  and  without  whose  permission  a  sparrow  cannot  fall 
to  the  ground.  It  is  pleasant  to  me,  while  I  cannot  hear  the  voices  of 
those  I  love  on  earth,  to  turn  to  the  Book  of  God  and  hear  him  speakinc 
in  his  word  and  uttering  his  admonitions  and  counsels  to  guide  my  wan- 
dering feet.  And  while  I  cannot  see  the  forms  of  wife  and  children 
around  me,  yet  I  can  recognize  the  handiwork  of  him  who  is  my  best 
friend,  the  father  and  guide  of  my  youth,  whenever  I  cast  my  eyes  on  the 
heavens  above  or  on  the  elements  around  me.  Would  that  I  could  feel 
that  whenever  I  lay  me  down  the  arms  of  Omnipotence  surround  me,  and 
that  I  am  in  the  immediate  presence  of  him  who  is  my  Redeemer,  my 
Saviour,  my  all.  And  well  would  it  be  for  me  if  I  could  recognize  when 
I  awake,  in  the  beamings  of  the  morning,  the  sweet  smiles  of  that 
countenance  which  watched  me  ceaselessly  through  the  shadows  of  the 
night. 

"  Commit  yourself,  with  all  your  cares  and  anxieties,  into  the  hands  of 
your  Heavenly  Father,  and  I  trust  you  may  experience  and  enjoy  the 
peace  that  passeth  all  knowledge." 

"With  an  account  of  a  visit  to  Miss  Garrettson  at  Bhine- 
beck  and  of  a  trip  to  "West  Point  the  diary  abruptly  closes. 
His  papers  contain  numerous  diaries  began  in  as  many 
blank  books,  but  there  is  no  instance  of  a  book  filled.  Jour- 
nalizing was,  no  doubt,  irksome  to  him  ;  his  letters,  too,  are 
usually  very  brief  and  contain  little  more  than  abstracts  of 
the  events  of  a  day  or  week.  Sentiment,  except  in  occa- 
sional and  these  beautiful  expressions  of  domestic  affection, 
is  wanting ;  with  regard  to  individual  men  he  is  absolutely 
reticent.  Nor  does  he  often  in  his  correspondence  indulge 
himself  in  reflections  upon  society  or  the  course  of  events. 
A  busy  man,  always  in  motion,  he  is  continually  absorbing 
information  and  forming  estimates  of  men  as  he  meets 
them,  but  reserves  expression  for  the  public  occasions  which 
call  for  the  exercise  of  his  highest  faculties. 


XIV. 

AN  EPISCOPAL  TOUR 
THROUGH  CALIFORNIA  AND   OREGON. 

1853,    1854. 


New  Conditions  of  Life  for  Bishop  Simpson. — Incessant  Travel  Required 
of  him. — His  Mental  Activity. — His  Secretary's  Account  of  his  Mode 
of  Preparing  for  Preaching  and  Lecturing. — Skeleton  of  the  Sermon 
on  2  Corinthians  iv.  18. — Too  Busy  to  Write. — A  Compensation  for  the 
Loss  of  Opportunities  of  Study.— The  Many  Applications  for  his  Ser- 
vices.— Readiness  to  Help  the  Churches. — Sails  for  California,  Decem- 
ber, 1853. — Crossing  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. — Hotel  Experiences  in 
the  "  Gem."— The  Chagres  River. — Cruces. — Spoiling  of  Romantic  Ex- 
pectations.—The  "St.  Charles"  or  the  "American,"  Which?  — The 
"Refuse  of  Creation"  Brought  Together. — Riding  on  Mules  through 
the  Gorges. — A  Native  Forest. — Panama. — Another  Crowded  Hotel. — 
A  Little  Prayer-meeting  on  the  Last  Evening  of  the  Year. — A  Broken 
Cot,  and  a  Night's  Sleep  on  the  Floor. — The  Golden  Gate  Breaks  her 
Shaft. — drifting  on  the  Pacific  Ocean. — A  Glorious  Sunset. — Arrival 
at  San  Diego. — The  Golden  Gate  nearly  Wrecked. — Failure  of  At- 
tempts to  Rescue  the  Ship. — Subsidence  of  the  Storm. — Arrival  at  San 
Francisco. — Meets  William  Taylor. — Preaching  nearly  Every  Day. — 
Delay  of  Steamer  for  Oregon. — Difficulties  in  the  Way  of  Reaching  the 
Seat  of  the  Oregon  Conference.  —  An  All-night  Ride  in  an  Open 
Wagon. — Sleeping  on  Sheaves  of  Oats. — Twenty  Miles  on  Horseback, 
Satchel  in  Hand. — Reaches  the  Log  School-house  in  which  the  Con- 
ference is  Held. — Great  Joy  of  the  People. — Return  to  Portland. — Jour- 
ney up  the  Columbia  River. — Perils  of  Waters  and  of  the  Wilderness. 
— A  Night  in  an  Indian  Camp. — Journey  Home. 


CONDITIONS  OF  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  LIFE.       295 


XIV. 

From  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  episcopate,  the  con- 
ditions of  life  for  Matthew  Simpson  underwent  an  entire 
change.  Having  no  diocese,  and  the  law  of  his  Church  re- 
quiring him  to  "  travel  at  large,"  he  was,  of  necessity,  al- 
ways in  motion.  His  study  of  books  was  intermittent.  He 
had  accumulated  an  ample  library,  but  the  hours  spent  in 
it  were  the  few  snatched  from  the  pressure  of  business.  It 
was  rather  a  retreat  for  him  when,  utterly  weary,  he  wished 
to  be  alone.  The  careful  reading  of  former  years,  his  habits 
of  close  observation,  and  his  retentive  memory  supplied  him 
with  the  resources  for  his  many  sermons  and  public  ad- 
dresses. He  had  an  open  eye  for  the  beautiful  in  nature 
and  art,  and  quickly  caught  up  the  historical  material  nec- 
essary for  giving  art  objects  their  proper  setting.  In  what- 
ever country  he  travelled  he  acquired  rapidly  an  intelligent 
understanding  of  its  topography,  politics,  sources  of  wealth, 
looking  at  it  with  the  eye  of  a  man  of  affairs.  Above  all 
he  talked  much  with  men,  was  accessible,  and  had  the  knack 
of  drawing  from  those  he  met,  without  seeming  to  do  so, 
the  information  he  desired. 

His  mental  activity  during  his  episcopal  years  was  ex- 
traordinary. I  find  among  his  papers  lectures  on  a  great 
variety  of  topics  :  lectures  to  young  ministers,  frequently 
delivered  early  in  the  morning,  before  the  hour  of  Confer- 
ence opening ;  narrative  lectures  upon  his  travels  in  foreign 
lands,  some  of  them  carefully  arranged  as  if  for  publication ; 
lectures  on  philosophy,  on  oratory,  on  the  connection  of 
commerce  with  science  and  religion,  and  reports  enough  of 


296  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

sermons  to  fill  several  volumes.*  Whenever  he  travelled  in 
foreign  lands  he  corresponded  with  newspapers,  usually  with 
several.  There  was  arranged  for  him,  in  his  later  years,  a 
correspondence  from  China,  with  the  New  York  Tribime, 
but,  owing  to  his  illness  in  California,  the  trip  to  China  was 
given  up. 

I  had  always  supposed  that  he  secured  the  results  of  read- 
ing by  the  help  of  his  private  secretaries,  but  the  Eev.  S.  M. 
Stiles,  who  was  his  secretary  for  years,  assures  me  that  he 
was  never  called  on  to  look  up  points.  Mr.  Stiles's  account 
of  the  bishop's  methods  of  work  is  decidedly  interesting  : 

"  With  reference  to  the  bishop's  preparations  for  lectur- 
ing or  preaching,  my  time  being  divided  between  him  and 
the  office  of  the  Board  of  Church  Extension,  I  am  not  so 
fully  informed  as  if  I  had  been  more  constantly  with  him. 
I  simply  went  to  his  house  or  office  when  he  was  ready  to 
dictate.  I  suppose  he  spent  some  time  in  preparation  for 
the  pulpit  and  platform,  yet  he  never  dictated  anything  to 
me  in  this  line  except  in  preparing  one  of  his  lectures,  and 
I  never  saw  any  manuscript  notes  of  his  sermons  except 
one,  and  these  were  brief.  He  was  so  constantly  occupied 
in  travelling  and  public  services,  and  the  little  time  he  spent 
at  home  was  so  taken  up  by  callers  that  he  had  not  much 
left  for  either  study  or  rest.  His  study  and  preparation  for 
the  pulpit  were  principally  done  in  former  years.  He  was 
too  much  taxed  to  do  much  of  either  when  I  knew  him ;  it 
is  wonderful  that  he  could  perform  the  work  he  did  and 
keep  up  his  reputation  as  a  preacher  with  so  little  leisure 
for  study.  I  do  not  believe  he  used  a  pen  much  in  his  pul- 
pit preparation  when  I  knew  him.  But  he  could  probably 
do  as  much  thinking  in  an  hour  or  two  as  most  preachers  in 
a  day,  and  prepare  himself  as  well  without  a  pen  as  others 
with  one.     I  remember  on  one  or  two  occasions  beine;  at 


*  A  volume  of  his  sermons,  made  up  from  short-hand  reports,  was  pub- 
lished by  Harper  &  Brothers  in  1885. 


t— -V    '  I 


cSt- 


bishop  Simpson's  skeleton  of  his  sermon  on  2  cokinth.  iv.  is. 


HIS  SECRETARY'S  NARRATIVE.  297 

his  house  when  I  heard  him  walking  the  floor  over  my  head 
and  repeating  what  I  imagine  was  a  sermon  that  he  was 
soon  to  preach.  I  suppose  he  did  his  thinking  upon  a  sub- 
ject in  this  way  more  or  less.  I  heard  him  remark  once,  as 
nearly  as  I  can  remember,  that  he  did  not  study  any  models 
of  preaching,  or  any  work  on  homiletics,  but  that  his  method 
of  sermonizing  was  his  own — such  as  came  to  him  from  the 
consideration  of  a  subject,  and  not  according  to  any  scien- 
tific or  school  methods.  His  great  lecture  on  '  The  Future  of 
Our  Country '  was  never  written  or  dictated  by  him.  I  do 
not  know  that  he  even  had  any  notes  of  it ;  though  he  may 
have  had.  All  that  remains  of  it,  so  far  as  I  know,  is  in 
newspaper  reports.  I  heard  it  but  once,  and  then  after  the 
war,  and  it  was,  in  the  manner  of  delivery  and  the  effect, 
not  to  be  compared  with  what  it  was  on  some  former  occa- 
sions, judging  from  the  accounts  I  have  heard  and  read  of 
it.  I  never  looked  up  any  points  for  him  on  any  subject, 
and  do  not  know  of  anybody  else  doing  so.  I  know  he  had 
in  contemplation  some  literary  work  that  he  wanted  to  dic- 
tate to  me,  but  never  had  time  for  it.  He  did  dictate  to  me 
a  sketch  of  his  life,  for  his  family.  I  think,  however,  that 
even  this  was  left  unfinished.  The  dictations  I  took  were 
letters.     His  correspondence  was  very  large." 

It  may  be  safely  asserted  that  for  instant  and  overwhelm- 
ing effect  upon  an  audience,  Bishop  Simpson  was  exceeded 
by  no  man  of  his  time  in  America  or  England.  The  inquiry 
into  his  method  of  preparing  for  public  addresses  is,  there- 
fore, worth  prosecuting.  The  testimony  of  his  secretary  on 
this  point  is  confirmed  by  the  written  remains  of  his  ser- 
mons. One  of  his  favorite  themes  was  the  power  of  the  in- 
visible ;  his  discourse  thereupon  is  the  thirteenth  of  the  pub- 
lished volume,  from  2  Corinthians  iv.  18 ;  of  two  skeletons 
of  this  which  I  find,  each  is  written  on  a  leaf  of  note  paper, 
and  neither  fills  more  than  fifty  lines.  The  skeleton  is,  how- 
ever, closely  analytic,  and  covers  all  the  points. 

Under  such  circumstances,  profound  thought  is  out  of  the 


298  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSOX. 

question,  and  if  popular  eloquence  moves  in  the  realm  of 
commonplaces,  profound  thought  is  not  required.  A  mixed 
assembly  will  soon  weary  of  thoughts  with  which  the  hear- 
ers are  not  more  or  less  familiar.  But  to  change  the  famil- 
iar into  something  more  than  a  commonplace,  to  give  clear 
expression  to  half -conscious  feeling,  to  say  for  thousands 
what  they  too  would  say  if  they  only  could,  and  above  all 
to  make  the  spiritual  as  real  to  the  mind  as  the  sensible,  are 
achievements  requiring,  for  their  highest  form,  nothing  less 
than  genius.  In  this  realm  of  common  thought  and  universal 
feeling  Bishop  Simpson  was  supreme ;  usually  one  short  hour 
gave  him  the  mastery  over  all  who  listened  to  the  sound  of 
his  voice. 

He  had  in  his  episcopal  life  a  compensation  for  the  loss 
of  the  opportunities  of  studious  reflection  in  the  wider 
spread  of  his  influence  as  a  Christian  orator.  And  it  is 
curious  to  notice  how  uniformly  the  effects  of  his  preach- 
ing followed,  in  the  earlier  days  of  his  episcopate,  when  he 
was  in  the  fulness  of  his  vigor.  ISo  matter  where,  on  the 
Atlantic  or  the  Pacific  coast,  at  home  or  abroad,  speaking 
directly  or  through  an  interpreter,  the  same  accounts  of 
the  effects  of  his  preaching  are  given  us.  Some  of  these 
are  absurdly  extravagant,  others  are  toned  down  to  sober- 
ness, but  all  alike  show  the  spell  he  laid  upon  the  minds 
of  men.  Xow  he  is  in  Oregon — a  wilderness  in  1854 — and 
is  preaching  to  a  congregation  of  Methodist  pioneers  as- 
sembled in  the  woods.  He  has  been  delayed,  and  only 
reaches  the  spot  at  the  close  of  the  Sunday-morning  ser- 
mon. He  is  announced  to  preach  in  the  afternoon.  "  And 
the  sermon/'  says  the  enthusiastic  writer,  "  who  shall  de- 
scribe the  indescribable  or  speak  the  unutterable.  Its  im- 
agery was  celestial,  its  pathos  divine,  its  power  omnipotent. 
It  was  more  than  Bishop  Simpson's  own ;  it  was  God's  and 
Christ's.  Years  after,  when  in  London,  the  same  sermon 
that  he  thought  not  too  good  for  these  Oregon  pioneers  he 
thought  good  enough  for  one  of  the  greatest  audiences  in 


EXTRAVAGANT  ACCOUNTS  OF  HIS  PREACHING.     299 

Christendom.'"  Again,  he  is  in  Norway  :  he  is  among  a  peo- 
ple whose  language  is  as  foreign  to  him  as  is  his  to  them. 
He  speaks  through  an  interpreter.  "  All  the  people,"  says 
the  reporter,  "  listened  and  wept."  Again,  he  is  in  Dublin, 
among  the  susceptible  Irish  Methodists.  Even  the  staid 
London  Watchman  glows  with  enthusiasm :  "  His  eloquence 
has  been  well  compared  to  a  river.  At  first  it  is  slow  and 
unpretending,  but  gradually  gathers  strength  and  volume, 
as  tributary  thoughts  flow  in,  until  it  becomes  a  broad, 
deep,  and  rapid  stream.  He  brought  his  admirable  discourse 
to  a  close  by  a  peroration  which,  for  thrilling  power,  we 
have  never  heard  surpassed."  And  now  he  is  among  his 
friends  in  his  own  West,  gathered  together  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan.  "  His  mind,"  says  one  of  his  hearers  of  that 
day,  "  seems  like  a  huge,  well-built  cage,  filled  with  moun- 
tain birds,  all  strong- winged  and  eager  to  be  let  loose,  confi- 
dent in  their  power  of  battling  with  the  storm  and  triumphing 
over  opposing  tempests.  His  figures  come  out  clear,  strong, 
and  beautifully  beaming,  like  the  light  of  the  sun,  illuminat- 
ing the  dark  places  of  his  logic,  making  them  attractive 
and  easily  understood.  You  feel  that  a  man  of  genius,  a 
great  spirit,  is  near  you,  but  in  him  there  is  a  sort  of  mag- 
netic charm  that  makes  you  love  the  man  and  have  large 
hopes  of  yourself."  These  touches  of  extravagance  in  the 
description  of  him  only  show  that  Bishop  Simpson  carried 
men  away  from  themselves ;  they  are  unconscious  as  well  as 
conscious  testimonies  to  his  power.  "  He  has  swallowed  me 
up,"  said  Father  Taylor  to  me  after  a  sermon  preached  by 
the  bishop  in  1860.  It  may  be  readily  supposed  that  the 
applications  for  pulpit  and  platform  services  poured  in  upon 
him  in  floods.  While  holding  the  New  York  Conference  in 
June,  1856,  with  another  Conference  immediately  to  follow, 
and  an  interval  of  a  few  days  between  them,  he  writes  thus 
to  his  wife :  "  As  to  work  between  this  and  the  Maine  Con- 
ference I  give  you  a  list  of  applications :  (1)  Newark,  New 
Jersey,  to  aid  in  a  public  meeting  on  Thursday  of  next 


300  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

week.  (2)  To  dedicate  the  new  Trinity  Church  in  New 
York  on  Sabbath  week.  (3)  To  preach  same  day  at  Hed- 
ding  Church.  (4)  To  lay  the  corner-stone  of  a  new  church 
in  Brooklyn  on  Monday  week.  (5)  To  spend  Sabbath  week 
in  Bangor,  Maine.  (6)  To  spend  it  in  Boston.  (7)  To  spend 
it  in  Lynn.  (8)  To  dedicate  a  new  church  in  Lynn  on  Mon- 
day week.  (9)  To  preach  at  Hillside  (Mrs.  Olin's  home)  on 
Friday  of  next  week.  I  believe  these  are  nearly  all  the  ap- 
plications I  yet  have  for  the  three  or  four  days  between 
the  Conferences.  How  many  more  I  shall  have  I  cannot 
tell." 

Nor  was  he  slow  to  meet  these  calls  for  aid ;  it  cost  him 
something  to  say  "  No  "  to  an  appeal  for  the  help  which  he 
best  of  all  our  preachers  of  that  time  could  give.  He  was 
literally  "in  labors  more  abundant"  than  other  men.  In 
May,  1857,  he  sailed  for  Europe,  and  he  gives  this  account 
of  his  manner  of  preparing  for  his  trip :  "  Early  in  the 
spring  I  presided  at  the  Kentucky,  North  Indiana,  Western 
Virginia,  and  Pittsburgh  Conferences ;  and  in  three  days 
from  the  close  of  the  last-named  Conference  I  left  my  home 
in  Pittsburgh  to  begin  my  journey.  Having  spent  the  Sab- 
bath in  Philadelphia,  preaching  in  Green  Street  in  the  morn- 
ing and  in  Trinity  at  night,  I  reached  New  York  on  Monday. 
Here,  in  addition  to  the  usual  preparations  for  the  trip,  I 
had  an  engagement  to  preach  a  dedicatory  sermon  on  the 
Scandinavian  Bethel  ship  on  Tuesday  afternoon  and  to  lect- 
ure in  Greene  Street  Church  that  night  in  behalf  of  a  new 
church  in  Hudson  City,  New  Jersey."  On  Wednesday  he 
sailed ;  and  in  this  fashion  he  worked  on,  though  with  more 
prudence  in  later  years,  to  the  end. 

But  we  are  anticipating  our  story.  In  1853  it  was  ar- 
ranged that  he  should  go  to  California — then  a  long  way  off 
from  the  Atlantic  border — and  while  holding  his  fall  Confer- 
ences his  mind  was  busy  with  the  preparations  for  this  trip. 
His  wife  was  in  poor  health,  and  in  his  correspondence  he 
does  his  utmost  to  cheer  her  up.     One  is  often  in  his  letters 


STARTS  FOR   CALIFORNIA.  301 

reminded  of  his  own  account  of  himself :  "  I  ought  never  to 
have  been  a  bishop ;  I  love  my  home  too  well." 

September  27,  1853,  he  writes  from  Loveland,  Ohio,  and, 
after  telling  her  all  the  news,  he  expresses  his  solicitude  for 
her  health  and  spirits  in  this  wise :  "  Be  a  good  girl — say 
your  prayers— always  keep  in  a  good  humor — keep  every 
wrinkle  off  your  brow,  for  time  will  make  them  too  soon, 
anyhow — look  at  the  bright  side  of  the  picture.  Get  into 
the  fresh  air,  keeping  good  care  of  your  feet — move  about 
a  little  every  day— if  nothing  else,  move  the  bed  round  as 
it  used  to  be,  and  then,  when  you  have  looked  at  it,  move  it 
back  again.  Change  the  chairs  and  the  divans  and  pull  the 
piano  cover  a  little — just  a  little — farther  over ;  and  when 
you  have  nothing  else  to  do,  think  of  me,  but  don't  write  too 
often." 

Dec.  20, 1853,  he  set  sail,  with  several  companions,  among 
them  the  Rev.  1ST.  Reasoner,  in  the  steamer  George  Law,  for 
Aspinwall.  In  the  party  were  several  ladies,  who,  under 
the  escort  of  the  bishop,  were  proceeding  to  join  friends  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  Of  this  trip,  at  that  time  novel,  there 
is  a  long  and  carefully  written  journal,  arranged  in  chap- 
ters, apparently  with  a  view  to  publication.  It  is  said,  in 
abatement  of  the  popular  estimate  of  him,  that,  though  an 
enchanting  speaker,  his  capability  as  a  writer  was  small.  A 
few  passages  from  this  journal  will  show  how  aptly  he  could 
express  himself  with  the  pen  when  he  had  time  to  collect 
his  thoughts. 

The  Isthmus  of  Panama  had  at  that  time  to  be  crossed 
partly  by  boat  up  the  Chagres  River  and  partly  on  mules. 
It  was  a  rough  journey,  and  was  sometimes  accompanied 
with  exciting  incidents.  The  bishop's  party  was  large,  and 
the  care  of  it  taxed  him.  They  had  arrived  at  Aspinwall 
and  were  getting  ready  for  the  transit : 

"  Early  the  next  morning  all  was  in  commotion.  The  first  note  heard  on 
awaking  was  the  shrill  cry  of  runners  for  the  baggage  and  transit  lines. 
Passing  to  the  town,  I  went  to  register  and  exchange  our  tickets,  as  di- 


302  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

rccted  by  officers  of  the  ship,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  agreed  to  find  a 
place  for  breakfast.  Hurrying  up-town,  I  found  my  friends  waiting,  hav- 
ing agreed  to  breakfast  at  the  '  Gem ;'  it  had  been  depicted  in  glowing 
terms  by  the  runners  as  the  best  place  in  the  city.  Away  we  went  to  the 
'  Gem  ;'  and  a  '  Gem1  it  surely  was.  Entering  a  crazy  entry,  whose  floor 
was  of  loose  boards,  we  passed  to  the  dining-room,  reminded  as  we  went 
that  if  we  expected  to  eat,  we  had  better  not  see  too  much.  It  was  rather 
strange  to  the  ladies  to  see  an  old  table,  with  its  feet  placed  on  the  bot- 
toms of  broken  glass  tumblers  (why,  I  could  not  tell),  set  in  what  appeared 
to  be  a  bedroom;  and  yet  they  were  relieved  to  get  anywhere  out  of  the 
close  confinement  of  the  vessel.  Breakfast  came  by  and  by,  for  in  these 
tropical  climates  no  one  is  in  a  hurry,  and  it  was  better  than  we  had  ex- 
pected. We  had  coffee,  fried  ham,  boiled  potatoes,  eggs,  and  bread.  All 
their  provisions,  we  learned,  are  brought  from  a  distance,  for  scarcely  any- 
thing is  produced  in  the  neighborhood,  notwithstanding  the  fertility  of 
the  soil.  Having  done  ample  justice  to  the  breakfast,  we  paid  our  fare 
and  hurried  to  the  train.  Some  seven  or  eight  cars  were  already  filled, 
and,  waiting  until  another  was  added,  our  party  found  seats,  and  I  sallied 
forth  to  view  '  the  city.1 

"  At  quarter-past  nine  our  train,  consisting  of  eleven  cars,  drawn  by  a 
small  engine,  started  for  the  interior.  So  shrill  and  fine  was  the  whistle 
of  the  engine  that  it  called  out  laughter  and  responses  from  the  crowd, 
such  as,  'Go  it  while  you're  young,'  etc.  Doubt  was  expressed  whether 
so  small  an  engine  could  draw  so  long  a  train,  but  the  doubt  was  silenced 
by  the  fact  that  we  were  in  motion.  Part  of  the  way  the  road  is  con- 
structed on  piles,  and  shakes  much,  but  the  main  portions  of  it  are  strong 
and  substantial.  The  clay  is  generally  reddish.  There  are  some  heavy 
cuts  and  such  rock  as  I  saw  appeared  to  be  black  or  brown  sandstone. 
Much  of  the  stone  used  in  the  work  must  have  been  found  near  the  sur- 
face. Our  first  station  was  Gatun,  several  miles  from  Aspinwall,  where 
we  reached  the  Chagres  River." 

The  account  of  the  passage  up  the  Chagres  Kiver  contains 
some  good  bits  of  description : 

"  Some  of  us  were  stowed  away  with  twenty  others  in  a  covered  barge. 
But  our  crew  were  provokingly  patient  about  starting.  Boat  after  boat 
shoved  out  before  us,  and  it  was  rumored  that  at  Cruces  there  might  be 
a  scarcity  of  lodging-places,  and  that  'first  come  would  be  first  served.' 
Our  boatmen  were  ready  to  start,  when  a  violent  altercation  sprang  up 
between  them  and  the  adjoining  crew  about  the  rowing-poles.  Such 
swearing  and  gesticulation  and  menacing  attitudes  foreboded  some  ter- 


THE    C HAG RES  RIVER.  303 

rible  result,  but  no  blows  were  struck.  I  afterwards  found  that  these 
natives  believed  in  FalstafTs  philosophy  that  '  discretion  is  the  better 
part  of  valor.'  They  seem  perfectly  infuriated,  and  rage  like  madmen, 
until  you  fancy  the  battle  is  beginning;  then  suddenly  they  cool  down 
and  are  as  peaceful  as  pet  lambs.  At  last  we  were  in  motion.  Our  pro- 
pelling force  consisted  of  five  natives,  one  of  whom  stood  at  the  stern  to 
direct  the  barge  ;  and  two  on  each  side,  fixing  their  poles  in  the  bed  of  the 
river,  and  throwing  tbei  weight  on  the  poles,  resting  against  the  shoulder, 
shot  us  up  stream,  as  they  walked  on  the  edge  of  the  boat  from  stem  to 
stern.  The  costume  of  these  native  boatmen  consisted  of  nature's  garb, 
plus  with  two  a  pair  of  trousers  apiece,  with  two  others  a  red  flannel  shirt, 
and  with  one  simply  a  cloth  around  the  loins.  Several  of  them  were  ath- 
letic and  exceedingly  well  formed  ;  one  of  them  had  a  smile  ever  on  his 
countenance,  as  he  placed  his  shoulder  against  the  pole  and  uttered  his 
boatman's  cry.  Another  made  the  most  hideous  and  awful  faces  I  ever 
beheld.  It  seemed  a  kind  of  compound  grin,  between  a  monkey's  and 
a  hyena's.  How  they  bear  the  pressure  upon  their  unprotected  breasts 
and"  shoulders  for  hours  together  seemed  strange,  but  they  manifested 
no  sense  of  inconvenience.  Their  song  was  a  monotonous  cry  something 
like  'Ho-a,  hesh,  hesh,  hesh,  hevy.'  Occasionally  they  slipped,  though 
remarkably  sure-footed,  and  once  one  of  them,  missing  his  brace  against 
the  pole,  plunged  into  the  water.  As  it  was  near  the  shore,  a  few  leaps 
brought  him  to  land,  and  the  boat  pulled  up  to  receive  him. 

"  A  mile  or  two  up  the  river  we  arrived  at  Gorgona,  a  village  upon  the 
southwest  bank  of  the  river,  containing  a  population  of  about  two  thou- 
sand. From  this  point  are  two  routes  to  Panama.  The  Gorgona  route 
is  more  level  and  less  stony,  but  is  very  muddy  in  wet  weather.  As 
the  rainy  season  was  nearly  over,  some  preferred  that  route.  The  great 
majority  preferred  to  go  by  Cruces,  six  miles  up  the  river.  As  we  pro- 
gressed the  scene  was  in  many  respects  exhilarating.  In  some  places  the 
stream  was  broad  and  shallow,  in  others  narrow  aud  deep.  The  dark 
waters  (for  the  water  appeared  very  dark)  were  overshadowed  by  the  trees 
and  shrubbery.  The  palms,  of  various  kinds,  reared  their  tall,  slender 
trunks,  and  on  some  hung  large  bunches  of  fruit,  Innumerable  vines  and 
flowers,  trees  in  full  bloom,  and  shrubs  of  delicate  leaf  and  rich  fragrance 
were  constantly  in  view.  Here  and  there  were  large  fields  of  plantain  ; 
and  in  the  distance  upon  our  right  were  conical  eminences,  one  of  which 
towered  up  proudly  over  two  thousand  feet.  About  half-way  between 
Gorgona  and  Cruces  the  river,  compressed  into  a  narrow  channel,  turns 
to  the  left  at  a  right  angle.  Upon  the  right  is  an  elevated  plain  with  a 
small  native  town;  and  directly  at  the  angle,  on  a  high  bank,  stood  an 
American  house.     It  was  readily  distinguished  by  its  boards,  its  glass 


3u-±  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

windows,  and  shutters,  and  a  cart  -which  stood  close  by.  There  was  an 
excavation,  showing  that  the  railroad  was  in  process  of  construction;  and 
it  is  at  this  point  that  the  road  leaves  the  Chagres  River  and  ascends 
towards  the  high  lands.  It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  and 
in  a  hammock  stretched  from  tree  to  tree  in  front  of  the  house  swung 
probably  an  engineer  or  officer  of  the  railroad  taking  his  siesta.  The 
water  was  so  deep  that  we  were  compelled  to  hug  the  shore,  and  the 
boat  was  propelled  by  the  oars  placed  against  the  rock  or  hard  clay  of 
the  bank.  The  scene  wras  so  fine,  and  the  high  bank  seemed  so  suited 
for  the  location  of  a  town,  that  our  company,  in  true  Yankee  style,  began 
to  discuss  the  propriety  of  laying  out  a  city  and  speculating  in  town 
lots. 

"  We  were  interested  in  noticing  the  ascent  of  vast  shoals  of  small  fish. 
Where  the  current  was  rapid  they  ascended  close  by  the  bank  ;  and  meet- 
ing some  projecting  root  or  other  obstacle,  they  shot  out  into  the  water 
in  a  ceaseless  silvery  stream,  presenting  almost  the  appearance  of  spray. 
It  was  some  time  after  we  noticed  them  before  we  could  be  persuaded  it 
was  a  stream  of  fish.  Thousands,  varying  from  one  to  three  inches  in 
length,  must  have  passed  every  few  minutes.  A  little  bird,  with  white 
breast  and  brownish  back  and  wings,  stole  softly  along  the  bank  just  at 
the  river's  brink,  watching  for  the  little  fish  as  they  came  within  stroke 
of  its  bill.  Birds,  like  meadow-larks  and  kingfishers,  were  upon  the 
bank,  or  skipped  among  the  bushes.  Large  buzzards  winged  their  slow 
flight  in  the  distance,  or  sat,  as  in  grand  and  solemn  council,  on  the  trees. 
Towards  evening  a  flock  of  parrots  made  their  appearance,  being  the  first 
which  we  had  seen  in  this  tropical  land,  and  upon  a  bank  of  mud  a  foot 
or  two  above  the  water's  edge  lay  an  alligator  some  five  feet  long,  occa- 
sionally moving  his  jaw  to  seize  his  unwary  prey. 

"On  arriving  at  Cruces  I  confess  to  some  little  disappointment.  I  had 
read  of  it  as  being  the  point  at  which  the  old  paved  road  met  the  Chagres 
Eiver.  It  had  stood,  connected  with  romantic  legends,  for  some  three 
hundred  years.  I  expected  to  see  something  like  an  American  city.  Be- 
sides, Mr.  H.,  the  agent  of  Mr.  Hinckley,  had  assured  me  on  the  cars  that 
we  should  find  accommodations  at  the  '  St.  Charles.'  And  as  he  was  going 
in  advance  in  a  light  boat  to  make  necessary  arrangements  at  Cruces,  he 
had  kindly  promised  that  lie  would  engage  rooms  for  the  ladies  of  our 
party.  But  here  stood  Cruces,  on  a  high  bank,  with  its  native  huts,  low 
and  thatched,  almost  without  order  and  without  any  enclosures.  Sure, 
however,  of  finding  a  comfortable  house  and  good  rooms  at  the  'St. 
Charles,'  we  hurried  on,  amid  the  crowd  of  passengers.  We  passed  the 
'American,'  a  two -story  frame  house,  with  a  small  addition  of  three 
-i  iries,  but  so  rough  and  uncomfortable  in  appearance  that  I  almost 


"THE  REFUSE  OF  CREATION:'  305 

pitied  the  passengers  who  were  compelled  to  tarry  in  such  a  place.  Con- 
gratulating ourselves  that  we  had  the  good-fortune  to  have  rooms  en- 
gaged in  advance,  we  made  our  way  through  filthy  streets,  if  such  they 
may  be  called,  where  mules  had  tramped  the  clay  into  deep  holes,  and 
between  huts  where  back  and  front  yards  were  the  same.  Finally  we 
reached  the  '  St.  Charles,'  another  frame  still  worse  looking  than  the 
'American,'  but  then  it  was  our  home,  and  the  weather  was  so  excessively 
hot  we  wished  to  go  no  farther.  Entering  the  hotel,  there  were  neither 
chairs  nor  benches  on  which  we  could  sit ;  and  on  inquiring  for  rooms,  we 
found  there  were  none  empty.  Sir.  II.  had  not  been  there — no  room  had 
been  spoken  for,  and  there  was  no  place  where  the  ladies  could  stay. 
Leaving  them,  I  hurried  back  to  the  'American,'  and  was  just  in  time  to 
secure  the  last  vacant  room,  which  was  in  the  third  story,  or,  as  we  should 
term  it,  the  garret.  For  the  use  of  this  room  for  the  four  ladies,  I  paid 
eight  dollars  in  advance,  and  was  also  required  to  pay  two  dollars  for 
breakfast  and  supper  for  each  of  us,  at  the  time  of  securing  the  room. 
Brother  Reasoner  and  myself  were  furnished  cots  in  the  gentlemen's 
commons  for  one  dollar  each.  These  cots  had  no  covering,  and  no  pil- 
lows, and  from  their  appearance  they  had  remained  unwashed  so  Ion"-, 
as  it  seemed  to  us, '  that  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrary.' 

"  Supper  was  served  in  wild  confusion.  Passengers  had  arrived  from 
the  Pacific.  Hundreds  were  with  us  from  the  Atlantic.  Provisions  were 
scarce,  and  waiters  were  few.  Such  screaming  for  coffee,  tea,  bread,  and 
meat  I  had  never  heard.  After  waiting  long,  I  was  served  with  some  tea 
with  sugar,  and  some  bread,  and  I  had  no  appetite  for  anything  more. 
Milk  is  not  heard  of  in  all  these  regions.  Beef  I  had  seen  cut  up  into 
strings  at  a  hut  near  by,  and  I  had  no  inclination  to  try  it.  Fresh  meat 
is  not  cut  as  with  us  in  pieces  for  roasting  or  broiling,  but  the  flesh  is  cut 
from  the  bones  in  strings,  and  is  sold,  as  I  was  informed,  not  by  the 
pound,  but  by  the  yard.  After  tea,  Brother  Reasoner  and  myself  sur- 
veyed the  town.  Along  the  bank  of  the  river  almost  every  house  had  liq- 
uors for  sale,  and  gambling-tables  were  before  nearly  every  door.  Natives 
and  Americans  of  a  low  class  crowded  the  gambling-places  near  the  river, 
while  upon  the  street  back  of  the  hotel  the  natives  pursued  their  amuse- 
ments alone. 

"  Returning  to  our  hotel  and  ascertaining  that  the  ladies  of  our  com- 
pany were  as  comfortable  as  could  be  expected  with  the  accommodations 
furnished,  we  repaired  to  our  cots  in  the  sleeping  commons.  But  there 
was  little  sleep  for  us.  It  seemed  as  though  the  refuse  of  creation  had 
been  gathered  into  one  room.  There  were  from  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  cots  and  bunks,  and  many  of  them  were  occupied  by 
men  highly  excited  with  drink.  Now  and  then,  when  sleep  was  about 
20 


306  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

to  visit  our  eyelids,  some  rude  remark  was  made  and  responded  to,  fol- 
lowed by  a  volley  of  oaths  and  obscene  utterances  of  the  most  disgusting 
character.  To  add  to  the  darkness  of  the  picture,  some  lewd  women  oc- 
cupied an  adjacent  room,  separated  only  by  a  thin  partition.  Their  jests 
and  laughter  and  vile  language  were  heard  and  responded  to  by  men  of 
the  baser  sort.  In  the  bar-room  beneath  us  men  who  could  get  no  cots 
to  lie  on  were  drinking,  swearing,  and  carousing,  and  making  night  more 
hideous  by  their  revelry.  In  the  native  huts,  long  after  'the  noon  of 
night'  had  passed,  there  were  alternate  singing  and  hallooing.  One 
shrill  voice  near  us  kept  up  a  song  in  loud  vociferation  the  greater  part 
of  the  night,  as  if  some  one  were  actiug  the  part  of  an  improvisator  for  the 
amusement  of  company.  Add  to  this  the  noise  of  mules  and  donkeys  col- 
lecting for  our  journey,  and  the  confusion  may,  in  part,  be  imagined.  We 
felt  as  if  we  were  in  the  very  suburbs  of  Pandemonium. 

"  As  soon  as  it  was  sufficiently  light  Ave  began  to  look  for  mules.  Our 
company  needed  seven,  with  side-saddles  for  the  ladies.  As  these  had 
been  but  lately  introduced,  being  an  iunovation  on  native  usage,  and  as 
there  was  an  unusually  large  number  of  ladies,  it  was  exceedingly  dif- 
ficult to  get  a  supply.  We  had  the  first  transit  tickets  taken  for  this  trip, 
and  were  entitled,  according  to  the  contract,  to  a  preference  in  choice  of 
mules.  But  in  vain  we  applied  to  Mr.  Hinckley  for  our  rights.  Every 
man  seized  a  mule  as  he  was  able,  and  it  was  an  hour  or  two  before  we 
were  even  partially  suited.  We  had,  indeed,  received  sundry  lessons  be- 
fore leaving  New  York  as  to  the  qualities  of  mules  and  how  to  make  our 
selection.  But  somehow  these  directions  were  not  applicable  to  the 
miserable  specimens  before  us,  and  finally  we  were  glad  to  seize  any 
that  offered.  When  we  fancied  ourselves  ready  to  mount,  a  native  laid 
claim  to  two  of  the  mules  and  demanded  payment,  and  I  was  compelled 
to  refer  to  Mr.  Hinckley  again  before  the  matter  was  settled.  The  na- 
tives frequently  combine  to  impose  on  travellers.  One  calling  himself 
the  owner  of  a  mule  lets  it  for  the  trip,  receives  payment,  and  disap- 
pears. When  the  traveller  is  about  to  mount  the  real  owner  comes  for- 
ward, demands  payment,  and  seizes  the  mule  until  the  money  is  paid. 
The  proceeds  of  the  trick  are  then  divided  between  the  parties.  No 
traveller  is  well  mounted  without  a  spur.  Not,  indeed,  such  spurs  as  are 
worn  by  horsemen  at  home,  but  large  ones,  with  points  projecting  from 
half  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length.  It  seems  unmerciful  to 
ride  with  such  spurs,  but  travellers  find  them  very  useful.  Boys,  and 
even  men,  drive  quite  a  trade  in  this  article  at  Cruces  and  at  Panama, 
selling  to  the  traveller  when  mounting  and  begging  from  him  when  dis- 
mounting and  glad  to  part  with  every  encumbrance. 

"About  eight  o'clock  we  mounted  and  began  our  journey.     But  the 


A  NATIVE  FOREST.  307 

ladies  had  never  been  on  mules  before,  and,  to  say  the  least,  our  mules 
were  mulish.  Some  took  it  into  their  heads  to  go  back  to  the  starting- 
place,  while  others  jDaused  as  if  considering  the  difficulties  of  the  journey. 
Not  until  spurs  had  been  freely  used  and  sticks  applied,  and  one  or  two 
umbrellas  had  been  broken,  did  we  get  partly  started,  and  then  it  required 
the  constant  exertions  of  the  rider  to  maintain  anything  like  a  respecta- 
ble gait." 

Their  way,  when  near  the  Pacific  side,  led  through  nar- 
row gorges,  which  are  thus  described : 

"  On  either  side  the  hills  rose  abruptly;  the  bottom  of  the  pass  was  so 
narrow  that  the  slender  legs  of  the  mule  had  scarcely  room  for  motion, 
and  the  rider  needed  to  guard  with  great  care  his  feet  and  limbs  from 
being  bruised.  Many  of  the  ascents  and  descents  were  exceedingly 
steep.  The  feet  of  the  mules  had  worn  holes  in  the  clay  or  rock,  so  that 
the  ascent  much  resembled  a  stairway.  Each  mule  trod  with  great  care 
in  the  'footsteps  of  its  illustrious  predecessor,'  and  only  by  its  remarka- 
ble carefulness  was  it  possible  to  descend  with  safety.  When  approach- 
ing the  first  descent,  and  observing  step  below  step  some  eighteen  inches 
or  two  feet  apart,  it  seemed  impossible  to  maintain  my  position.  But 
others  had  preceded  me,  and  then  it  was  a  risk  to  get  in  the  narrow 
pathway  with  mules  coming  tumbling  after  me  ;  so,  trusting  to  my  beast's 
sure-footedness,  I  retained  my  seat,  and  shortly  acquired  full  confidence 
in  its  ability  to  climb  up  and  get  down.  And  yet  one  misstep  must  in- 
evitably have  hurled  the  rider  over  its  head. 

"These  gorges  or  narrow  ravines  are  quite  numerous  and  of  consider- 
able length.  To  pass  another  train  in  them  is  altogether  impossible,  and 
the  native  muleteers  are  heard  uttering  their  shrill  cries  to  give  notice 
from  ravine  to  ravine  of  their  approach.  Occasionally  these  passes  are 
obstructed  by  a  mule  falling  beneath  his  load.  It  is  said  that  in  such 
cases  they  are  killed  by  the  natives  and  cut  in  pieces,  in  order  to  remove 
them  out  of  the  road.  One  pass,  where  there  chanced  to  be  a  choice  of 
ways,  we  found  thus  obstructed.  We  were  also  told  that  when  mules 
laden  with  trunks  or  boxes  meet  others  they  can  scarcely  be  stopped, 
but  press  right  forward,  their  determination  strengthening  as  the  obsta- 
cles multiply." 

A  native  forest  is  very  prettily  pictured  : 

"  The  greater  part  of  the  way  the  forests  remain  in  undisturbed  grand- 
eur. Many  species  of  the  palm  tower  towards  heaven.  The  manzanilla, 
mahogany,  and  varieties  of  the  cedron  are  also  abundant.  With  these  are 
found  an  immense  variety  of  trees  unknown  to  the  casual  traveller.    Some 


30S  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

stand  as  giants  that  for  centuries  have  been  spreading  out  their  branches 
as  a  home  for  the  multitudes  of  parrots  and  monkeys  which  chatter  from 
the  midst  of  them.  Some  shoot  up  slender  trunks  as  if  anxious  to  catch 
a  glimpse  of  the  pure  sky,  which  is  almost  concealed  by  their  larger  neigh- 
bors. Then  every  tree  is  covered  with  vines,  or  with  parasitic  plants. 
Sometimes  the  vines  pass  from  tree  to  tree,  making  a  complete  net-work 
almost  impenetrable.  Then,  descending  from  some  lofty  branch,  they 
swing  in  mid  air,  sporting  their  blossoms,  and  adding  beauty  to  the 
magnificent  scenery. 

"Notwithstanding  the  fatigue  of  the  journey,  the  passengers  generally 
were  in  excellent  spirits.  Grotesque  enough  were  we  in  our  costumes  and 
equipments.  The  men  wore  palm-leaf  or  chip  hats  tied  with  a  ribbon 
to  a  button-hole  of  a  light  coat.  Heavy  garments  were  doffed  as  far  as 
possible,  and  in  our  outer  appearance — well  sprinkled  witli  mud,  on  don- 
keys some  four  feet  high,  one  half  the  ladies  riding  after  the  fashion  of 
men — our  friends  would  scarcely  have  recognized  us.  But  we  were  all  in 
the  same  category,  and  could  afford  to  laugh  at  our  condition.  The  don- 
keys after  being  whipped  and  spurred,  would  occasionally  take  it  into 
their  heads  to  gallop  for  a  short  distance,  while  the  rider  would  exclaim, 
after  the  manner  of  the  natives, '  mucha  mula"1  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  The 
poor  donkeys  seemed  to  enjoy  words  of  praise  spoken  in  Spanish. 

"At  last  we  arrived,  and  almost  exhausted  we  saw  the  twin  towers  of 
the  Cathedral  of  Panama,  and,  winding  around  the  base  of  the  Bolivar 
hill,  we  shortly  entered  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  Little  native  huts  clus- 
tered together  make  a  native  town  outside  of  the  walls.  Passing  nearly  a 
mile  through  these,  about  five  o'clock  we  reached  the  outer  gate,  and,  en- 
tering through  a  narrow,  walled  way  several  rods  in  length,  we  passed 
the  inner  gate,  and  dismounted  at  the  '  Louisiana  Hotel.'  My  first  task 
was  to  visit  the  steamer  office,  where  our  tickets  were  registered.  Our 
hotel  was  a  French  one,  and  furnished  only  lodging  at  one  dollar  per 
day,  and  we  must  needs  visit  the  restaurant  for  supper.  As  the  one  near 
by  had  exhausted  its  stock  when  we  called  for  supper,  we  went  to  the 
next,  where  we  bad  tea,  coffee,  bread  and  butter,  for  fifty  cents  each. 
But  my  stomach  refused  the  food,  as  fever  had  begun  to  rise ;  on  our 
way  back  we  stepped  into  a  Catholic  church  where  evening  service  was 
about  closing.  A  few  native  boys  were  singing;  a  few  women  were 
saying  their  prayers  and  bowing  towards  the  altar.  Eeturning  to  our 
hotel,  as  it  was  the  last  day  in  the  year  we  spent  an  hour  with  the  ladies 
in  religious  conversation  and  bowed  together  in  grateful  prayer — myself 
and  Brother  Reasoner  leading — trying  to  be  thankful  for  the  mercies  of 
the  past  and  covenanting  that,  if  spared,  the  new  year  should  be  one  of 
greater  devotion  to  God.     "We  thought  of  loved  ones  from  whom  we  were 


A  BROKEN  SHAFT.  309 

parted,  and  we  lifted  also  our  hearts  in  prayer  in  their  behalf,  and  to 
some  extent  felt  it  was  pleasant  to  wait  upon  God. 

"  Calling  for  our  beds,  Brother  Reasoner  and  I  were  sent  to  the  parlor,  as 
it  was  termed,  where,  after  some  controversy,  I  got  the  last  cot  of  about 
twenty  in  the  room.  It  stood  directly  in  a  current  of  air,  and  Brother  R. 
was  allowed  to  lie  on  a  sola.  Trying  to  move  my  cot  a  little  and  to  close 
the  door  so  as  to  keep  off  part  of  the  current,  I  laid  me  down  to  sleep, 
but  about  eleven  my  cot  gave  way,  and  I  came  down  head  foremost.  As 
it  was  useless  to  complain,  and  impossible  to  get  another  bed,  I  lay  upon 
the  floor,  and  rested  as  well  as  I  could. 

"Jan  1  1854.-In  the  morning  I  was  weak  and  feverish;  my  clothes 
were  with  my  baggage,  which  had  not  arrived  at  bed-time  last  night  and 
I  was  in  a  bad  plight  for  a  New-Year's  Sabbath  in  a  strange  land.  After 
a  breakfast,  of  which  I  was  able  to  partake  but  lightly,  I  felt  somewhat 
better  but  before  I  could  get  my  clothes  out  of  my  trunk,  and  dress, 
church  hour  had  passed.  My  fever  continually  increased,  but,  as  notice 
was  given  that  passengers  might  go  on  board  at  one,  and  that  the  ship 
would  sail  at  six,  I  took  a  short  walk  about  the  town. 

«  Monday  morning,  Jan.  2.-Though  I  rested  but  little  during  the  night, 
yet  knowing  we  were  farther  south  than  we  would  be  at  any  other  tune 
and  as  it  was  perfectly  clear,  I  rose  between  three  and  four,  and  walked 
out  to  look  at  the  stars  of  the  Southern  sky.  The  cross  shone  in  full 
brilliancy,  and  I  stood  for  some  time  looking  at  a  part  of  the  heavens  I 
had  never  seen  before.  The  north  star  was  some  seven  degrees  above  the 
horizon,  but  almost  lost  in  a  slight  haze.  All  the  stars  beamed  with  that 
soft  planetary  lustre  which  is  peculiar  to  tropical  climes.  The  sea  was 
full  of  phosphorescence,  not  merely  sparkling,  as  if  set  with  stars,  as  on 
the  night  we  ran  into  Aspinwall;  but  it  seemed  as  if  the  waves  winch 
broke  around  our  ship  were  tipped  with  silvery  glow,  now  and  then 
sparkling  into  brighter  lustre." 

While  running  up  the  coast,  the  Golden  Gate  broke  her 
shaft,  and  was  compelled  to  lie  to  some  days  for  repairs. 
Fortunately  the  sea  was  calm,  but  this  accident  led  to  other 
misadventures : 

«  Thursday,  Jan.  12.-A  bright,  beautiful  morning,  but  we  are  still 
drifting  southwestwardly.  I  find  that  there  is  but  little  prospect  of  get- 
tin-  the  engine  at  work  for  perhaps  two  days,  as  a  large  part  of  the 
shaft  must  be  drilled  away.  The  air  is  still,  the  sea  is  calm  and  every- 
thing is  delightful,  except  that  we  are  not  moving  in  the  right  direction 
We  are  especially  apprehensive  that  our  non-arrival  before  the  sailing  of 


310  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

the  mail  from  San  Francisco  may  create  great  alarm  among  our  friends 
in  the  States.  We  shall  probably  be  on  short  allowance  of  food,  but  that 
we  think  we  can  bear.  We  are  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  orders  all 
things  well. 

"  In  the  evening  we  had  one  of  those  glorious  sunsets  for  which  the 
Pacific  is  so  famous.  The  sea  was  almost  as  smooth  as  a  plain,  save  for 
the  ceaseless  undulation  which  ever  moves  its  surface.  Not  a  cloud  was 
in  the  sky.  The  sun  went  down  slowly,  while  a  deep  ruddy  color  spread 
around,  and  its  last  line  of  light  suddenly  disappeared.  The  sea  from 
the  reflection  of  light  seemed  like  a  mosaic  pavement.  Its  color  upon 
the  summit  of  each  swell  was  a  purple  shaded  with  blue ;  the  sides  of  the 
swells  inclining  towards  the  west  were  covered  with  rings  of  yellow  and 
green,  while  on  the  side  of  each  swell  eastward  the  colors  shaded  into 
black.  I  stood  gazing  at  the  scene  until,  under  the  dimming  light,  the 
colors  faded  away.  On  the  other  side  the  full  moon  cast  her  rays  from 
the  east,  and  the  undulations  were  tinged  with  silver  as  they  sparkled 
under  her  beams.  It  lacked  only  some  fleecy  clouds  to  display  the  various 
colors  which  I  had  seen  a  few  evenings  before  to  make  it  indescribably 
grand. 

"  I  spent  the  evening  chiefly  in  religious  meditation.  Here  we  were 
resting  for  forty-eight  hours  on  the  bosom  of  the  Pacific.  One  shaft  broken 
— the  probability  that  a  day  or  two  must  elapse  before  even  an  effort  could 
be  made  to  put  our  engine  in  motion,  and  there  was  some  uncertainty 
whether  it  would  work.  No  breeze  fanned  the  sails — and  already  we 
were  reminded  that  food  and  water  were  growing  scarce.  Yet  He  who 
rules  in  all  space  and  all  time  is  with  us  on  the  ocean's  waste,  as  well  as 
in  the  busy  city,  and  He  will  order  all  things  well.  Committing  myself  to 
His  care,  I  went  sweetly  to  sleep. 

"Friday,  Jan.  13. — Another  lovely  morning  rose  upon  us.  All  was  peace- 
ful and  calm,  but  there  are  no  indications  of  getting  ready  for  moving. 
For  two  days  suppers  have  been  dispensed  with,  but  to-day  our  dinner 
was  limited  to  a  single  course.  Passengers  express  considerable  un- 
easiness." 

On  his  way  along  the  coast  he  writes  a  cheery  letter  to 
his  wife : 

"  Steamer  Golden  Gate,  Jan.  17, 1854. 
"...  In  my  day  thoughts  as  in  my  dreams,  I  have  been  much  at  home 
with  you  and  the  children.  Sometimes  fancy  would  play  a  little  strong- 
ly, but  generally  I  have  been  kept  in  peace,  have  looked  into  the  family 
circle,  and  have  seen  your  sparkling  eye  and  almost  heard  your  merry 
iausd),  and  then  a<?ain  you  seemed  careworn  and  exhausted.     I  have 


ALMOST  A  SHIPWRECK.  311 

looked  at  the  children  in  their  studies  and  sports, at  his  Latin, 

and  at  their  geography  and  arithmetic, at  her 

mischief,  and  little cooing  and  jumping,  while  his  mother  says, 

'What  a  pretty  boy!'  But  then  I  sometimes  ask,  'What  if  some  one 
may  be  sick,  or — '  and  I  try  to  look  upwards  and  commit  all  into  the 
hands  of  my  Heavenly  Father,  who  careth  for  them.  I  have  never  been 
nervous,  I  think,  but  an  hour  or  two  one  night.  It  was  in  Panama.  I 
was  bilious  when  I  reached  the  Isthmus;  I  had  slept  little  at  Cruces  the 
first  night;  I  had  had  much  care  besides  fatigue  in  reaching  Panama, 
and  fever  had  already  set  in.  When  I  sought  my  bed,  I  could  get  but  a 
broken  cot,  which,  the  last  of  about  twenty,  had  been  put  up  in  a  saloon, 
and  it  was  precisely  between  two  doors  wdiere  the  night  air  of  that  un- 
healthy spot  must  blow  upon  me.  I  tried  to  move  my  cot  a  little,  and, 
with  the  consent  of  others,  got  the  principal  door  closed  where  the  wind 
blew,  and,  turning  my  head  as  far  from  the  current  as  possible,  I  was  soon 
asleep.  But  about  eleven  o'clock,  my  cot  broke  down  with  me  head  fore- 
most, and  the  panel  of  the  door  blew  open  so  that  I  could  not  fasten  it. 
On  the  hard  floor  I  lay,  trying  to  fix  the  broken  cot  so  as  to  protect  my- 
self from  the  current  of  air.  As  my  head  ached,  as  my  mouth  and  lips 
were  dry  and  thirsty,  and  I  felt  the  feverish  throb  in  my  pulse,  I  own  to 
a  little  nervousness  wdien  I  thought  of  the  Isthmus  fever,  and  of  home, 
and  of  the  deep,  blue  sea.  But  trying  to  believe  that  all  was  right,  and  that 
arms  of  love  were  around  and  beneath  me,  the  floor  grew  softer,  the  cur- 
rent of  air  seemed  less  annoying,  thoughts  of  friends  and  a  home  in  the 
upper  sanctuary  mingled  among  my  imaginings,  and  I  sank  into  a  calm 
and  peaceful  slumber." 

His  perils  by  the  sea  were  not  yet  over.  The  disabled 
steamer  made  its  way  to  the  harbor  of  San  Diego,  and  while 
trying  to  get  out  again  ran  upon  a  shoal,  and  came  near  be- 
ing wrrecked.  He  describes  this  unexpected  experience  in 
his  diary  : 

"  Our  steamer  seemed  to  be  floating  finely  out,  though  worked  by  one 
wheel,  but  as  we  were  eating  dinner  a  sudden  jar  indicated  that  we  had 
touched  bottom.  It  was  not  at  first  supposed  to  be  serious,  but  after  an 
attempt  or  two  to  get  off,  baffled  by  the  wind  setting  in  from  the  south- 
east and  the  tide  running  out,  a  signal  was  hoisted,  and  speedily  brought 
the  steamer  Goliad,  the  small  vessel  which  I  had  seen  in  the  morning,  to 
our  aid.  Vain,  however,  was  the  trial,  and,  after  breaking  two  or  three 
of  the  largest  cables,  the  Goliad  lay  near  us,  waiting  for  the  evening  or 
night  tide.  Low  tide  is  about  five  to  six;  high  tide,  eleven  to  twelve. 
We  supposed  that  then  we  could  be  pulled  off,  as  our  bow  swung  free. 


312  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"As  the  tide  began  to  come  in,  the  breeze  strengthened  into  a  gale, 
and  by  seven  o'clock  we  were  dashed  against  by  strong  waves.  Towards 
nine  it  was  found  impossible  to  make  an  attempt  to  get  us  off,  and  be- 
tween nine  and  ten  the  Goliad  made  for  the  harbor,  narrowly  escaping 
bein"-  driven  on  shore.  Our  condition  became  exceedingly  critical  from 
nine  to  one.  The  storm  raged  fiercely ;  the  cordage  creaked ;  the  sail, 
which  had  been  put  up,  was  torn  into  shreds,  it  being  impossible  to  get 
it  down ;  the  shrouds  cracked  like  whip-cords,  while  an  occasional  squall 
suddenly  striking  the  sail  sounded  like  thunder.  The  waves  rose  high, 
dashing  furiously  against  the  vessel,  and  every  now  and  then  breaking 
even  over  the  top  of  the  cabin.  The  foremast  was  cracked  and  almost 
ready  to  fall,  and  the  cabin-work  around  the  mainmast  began  to  crack 
and  give  way.  Near  twelve,  the  guards  on  the  larboard  side  were  split 
part  of  the  way  up  ;  those  immediately  outside  my  room,  which  was 
wholly  above  the  guards,  splitting  up  so  that  I  could  not  get  to  it 
without  great  risk.  A  heavy  sea  striking  shortly  after  burst  up  the 
o-uards  in  the  passageway,  so  as  to  throw  the  surges  directly  into  the 
cabin,  and  wetting  several  of  the  rooms.  At  this  time  there  seemed  but 
little  hope  of  the  ship  outriding  the  storm,  but  about  one  o'clock  the 
squalls  of  wind  were  further  apart,  and  from  that  time  till  three  the  surges 
were  less  regular  and  not  so  strong.  After  three  there  w^as  a  decided 
moderation  of  the  weather,  and  the  ship,  which  all  night  before  had 
leaned  to  the  larboard,  so  as  to  require  many  of  us  to  stand  on  the  star- 
board o-Uard,  righted  up,  and  wTe  were  relieved  from  that  duty.  I  stood 
perhaps  three  hours  during  the  night  on  the  guard,  and  got  tolerably 
wet.  The  latter  part  of  the  night  the  sky  cleared  up,  and  at  daylight  the 
wind  had  fallen.  The  majority  of  the  passengers  did  not  lie  down  dur- 
ing the  night,  but  after  four  o'clock,  and  especially  after  five,  some  were 
able  to  sleep.  Though  assured  by  the  officers  that  the  ship  was  strong 
enough  to  last  several  days,  it  was  evident  that  the  best  seamen  were 
exceedingly  doubtful  of  the  result.  The  ship  leaked  so  that  it  became 
impossible  to  work  the  engine,  the  wheel  being  so  far  under  water,  and 
the  water  gathering  in  the  ship  put  out  the  fire. 

"  In  the  storm  the  passengers  were  as  cool  and  as  tranquil  as  could 
have  been  expected.  All  were  aware  of  our  great  danger,  and  many  had 
but  little  hope.  Several,  who  had  been  in  storms  around  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  and  in  the  Atlantic  and  Mediterranean,  said  they  had  never 
witnessed  a  night  so  terrible.  Some  of  the  wildest  men  came  to  me  to 
converse  on  religious  subjects,  and  I  had  an  opportunity  of  pointing 
several  to  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  who  at  other  times  were  utterly 
careless.  The  ladies  in  our  company  were  very  quiet,  and  I  did  not  hear 
an  exclamation  from  any  one  of  them.     Some  other  ladies  were  much 


ARRIVAL  AT  SAN  FRANCISCO.  313 

excited,  and  some  Spanish  women  were  incessant  in  their  prayers  to  all 
the  saints,  calling  upon  each  one  by  name.  About  eleven,  I  proposed  to 
Bishop  Kip  the  propriety  of  prayer,  it  having  first  been  suggested  to  me 
by  one  or  two  of  the  passengers.  "We  consulted  several,  but  found  that 
it  was  objected  to  by  several  gentlemen,  and  especially  by  the  physician 
of  the  ship,  lest  it  should  increase  the  terror  of  the  passengers. 

"  The  sight  of  the  sea  during  the  storm  was  sublime.  The  waves  ran 
high,  dashing  into  foam  and  spray,  and  in  their  mighty  rush  leaped  as  if 
in  defiance  of  any  earthly  power,  while  their  roar  could  have  been  heard 
from  afar.  The  words  of  the  Psalmist  in  Psalm  cvii.  23-31  have  now  a 
fuller  meaning  to  me  than  ever  before.  It  was  a  great  consolation  to 
remember  that  'The  sea  is  His,  and  He  made  it,'  and  that  other  expres- 
sion, 'The  Lord  sitteth  upon  the  flood;  yea,  the  Lord  sitteth  King  for- 
ever.' " 

Although  the  Goliad  was  a  small  steamer,  most  of  the 
passengers  preferred  making  the  rest  of  the  voyage  on  it  to 
waiting  for  a  larger  ship.  After  their  rough  night's  experi- 
ence the  whole  of  the  company  on  the  Golden  Gate  went 
ashore. 

"  About  five  o'clock,  or  between  five  and  six  in  the  morning,  the  Goliad 
left  the  port  of  San  Diego  and  was  soon  out  upon  the  ocean.  It  is  a  small 
vessel,  built  originally  for  a  tug  steamer  in  New  York,  and  is  very  strong. 
Its  engine  is  large,  unusually  large,  for  a  ship  of  its  size.  Its  upper  cabin 
is  well  fitted  up  and  is  the  dining-room,  and  some  eighteen  staterooms  are 
finished  in  comfortable  style  upon  the  deck.  The  captain  has  been  a 
physician,  is  a  very  gentlemanly  man,  and  he  and  the  purser  exerted 
themselves  to  make  our  company  comfortable.  And  though  but  a  coast- 
ing vessel  from  San  Francisco  to  San  Diego,  and  only  expecting  from 
fifty  to  eighty  passengers,  yet  so  attentive  were  the  officers  that  from  all 
the  two  hundred  and  fifty  I  did  not  hear  a  single  complaint." 

As  soon  as  he  reached  San  Francisco  he  began  to  work  at 
a  prodigious  rate,  even  for  him.  The  first  evening  in  that 
city  was  spent  in  true  Methodist  fashion  in  a  prayer-meet- 
ing. He  found  travel  in  this  state,  so  recently  opened  to 
Americans,  rough  beyond  all  former  experience,  but  he 
met  his  adventures  with  a  light-hearted  and  elastic  temper. 
A  little  anxiety  disturbs   him,  however,  when  he  thinks 


314  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

of  home.    Sailing  up  the  Sacramento  River,  he  writes  to  his 
wife: 

"  Steamer  Antelope,  Jan.  30, 1854. 
"...  I  have  been  lodging  at  Mr.  Hillinan's  temperance  hotel.  He  is 
a  Methodist,  and  I  have  been  kindly  treated.  I  have  met  several  old 
students.  .  .  .  Personally  I  have  but  little  to  say.  God  has  been  pleased 
to  keep  me  in  safety  and  health  thus  far,  and  I  try  to  leave  myself  in  his 
hands  without  anxiety  for  the  future.  I  have  been  trying  to  keep  notes 
of  my  journey,  "which,  should  I  return,  may  be  of  interest  to  you  and  the 
children.  I  have  appointments  now  made  to  fill  up  uext  month  in  trav- 
ersing the  country,  which  I  must  do  by  stage,  on  horseback,  muleback, 
steamboat,  or  on  foot,  jnst  as  I  find  most  convenient.  Brethren  have  re- 
ceived me  kindly,  and  I  think,  apart  from  constant  labor,  I  might  have  a 
pleasant  visit.  I  am  trying  also  to  give  my  heart  and  life  more  fully  to 
God  and  his  service,  and  I  trust  that,  by  his  assisting  grace,  I  may  ad- 
vance in  spiritual  knowledge  and  holiness.  A  shade  sometimes  comes 
over  my  spirits  when  I  think  of  the  condition  of  my  eyes,  the  spots  be- 
fore which  have  increased  since  I  left  home;  but  perhaps  I  may  not  need 
them  longer  than  they  shall  serve  me.  At  any  rate  all  will  be  right — 
yes,  all  will  he  right — for  God  can  do  nothing  wrong.  I  need  not  say 
that  I  think  frequently  of  you  and  of  the  children.  I  try  to  think  of  you  in 
my  most  sacred  moments  of  devotion,  when  I  present  you  all  at  the  cross, 
and  plead  for  your  health,  your  peace,  and  your  safety.  I  think  of  you 
frequently  at  other  times,  and  often  am  ready  to  count  the  moments  long, 
but  I  try  to  check  myself,  knowing  that  my  duty  is  simply  to  live  right 
the  present  moment,  and  to  commit  all  my  interests  and  all  my  ways  into 
the  hand  of  him  who  careth  for  me.     Please  to  remember  me  kindly  to 

and  to ,  as  well  as  to  my  brethren  of  the  ministry — the  glorious 

ministry  of  reconciliation.  Oh,  how  I  long  to  be  more  useful  in  the  dis- 
charge of  its  duties!  The  night  of  that  terrible  storm  I  little  expected 
to  see  you  or  the  children,  or  to  preach  again  in  the  name  of  Jesus;  but 
God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  has  allowed  me  to  speak  again,  and  possibly 
he  may  permit  me  to  meet  my  loved  ones.  Iu  the  meantime  meet  me 
at  the  cross — the  blessed  cross." 

It  was  not  long  before  he  met  the  Eev.  "William,  now 
Bishop,  Taylor,  who  was  busy  in  San  Francisco,  holding 
open-air  services  on  the  Long  Wharf  and  on  the  city  plaza. 
"We  draw  from  the  diary  a  brief  notice  of  Taylor's  Cali- 
fornia life,  the  beginning  of  a  career  which  has  touched  all 
the  continents  of  the  globe  : 


AT  SACRAMENTO.  315 

"Sunday  morning  I  visited  the  wharf  on  my  way  to  Brother  Heath's 
church  on  Folsom  Street.  Brother  Taylor  was  preaching  to  one  or  two 
hundred  men  who  were  gathered  around  him,  but  I  had  not  time  to 
stop  and  listen.  Preached  at  eleven  to  a  well -filled  house  at  Brother 
Heath's  church  on  Folsom  Street,  on  'Thus  it  is  written,'  etc.  After 
dinner  walked  to  plaza,  where  Brother  Taylor  preached  to  some  one  or 
two  hundred  people,  a  plain,  pointed  sermon ;  very  good  order  was  ob- 
served ;  one  lady  besides  Mrs.  Taylor  present ;  these  services  are  attended 
with  much  good.  At  half-past  three  attended  sacrament  on  Folsom 
Street,  and  after  services  addressed  the  church  on  Church  duties.  Tea 
at  Hillman's,  and  preached  at  night  to  a  full  house  in  the  Bethel.  After 
sermon  Brother  Taylor  invited  mourners  —  three  came  :  one  American 
man ;  one  negro  woman,  darkest  I  ever  saw ;  one  Peruvian  young  man — 
all  nations  and  tongues  seem  to  be  congregating  in  California,  and  I  trust 
that  here  is  to  be  the  centre  of  a  great  good." 

His  next  letter,  dated  from  Sacramento,  contains  an  itin- 
erary, and  shows  that  he  did  travel  "  by  steamboat,  stage, 
horseback,  muleback,  or  on  foot,"  as  he  found  best  for  his 
purpose.     One  wonders  how  he  came  through  it  all : 

"  Sacramento,  Feb.  14, 1S54. 
"  When  the  last  steamer  arrived  I  hoped  to  receive  at  least  a  line  from 
home,  but  I  was  distant  from  San  Francisco,  and  could  only  receive  my 
letters  at  certain  points.  A  few  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  steamer,  I 
rode  some  seventy  miles  by  stage  in  mud  and  rain,  consoling  myself  with 
the  thought  that  I  should  meet  my  letters  at  Stockton;  but  no  letter 
came.  Just  as  I  was  leaving  Stockton,  a  friend  informed  me  that  a  letter 
post-marked  Pittsburgh  had  been  forwarded  to  me  at  Sacramento,  which 
I  was  engaged  to  reach  that  evening.  Fifty  miles  staging  brought  me 
to  Sacramento,  but  no  letter  was  there.  The  next  evening  at  Mormon 
Island,  twenty-eight  miles  farther,  I  received  it,  but  it  was  not  from  home. 
Brother  Kincaid  had  kindly  written,  but  had  no  news  in  it  from  you, 
except  that  he  had  seen  you  on  the  Thursday  evening  after  I  had  left. 
Again  I  travelled  my  round,  and  this  afternoon,  after  forty -five  miles 
staging  through  frost  and  snow  and  mud,  I  arrived  at  this  place,  where 
Conference  will  begin  Thursday  morning,  and  where,  Thursday  evening,  I 
will  meet  the  elders — but  no  letter  meets  me.  Two  months,  save  three 
days,  have  passed  since  I  left  home,  and  no  letter  yet — 

'  My  friends,  do  they  now  and  then  send 
A  letter  or  thoughts  o'er  the  sea ; 
To  tell  me  I  yet  have  a  friend, 
Who  loves  to  write  letters  to  me  ?' 


316  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

But  that  parody  must  close  this  chapter  of  letter  accidents.  I  send  you 
a  few  scraj)s  to  show  yon  I  have  not  been  idle  since  my  arrival  here.  I 
have  had  appointments  almost  every  day,  and  I  have  not  failed  to  meet 
them.  I  have  ridden  by  stage,  horseback,  and  muleback,  and  to  a  few  I 
have  walked  ;  and  my  health  is  about  as  good  as  when  I  arrived.  When 
I  last  wrote  you  I  was  sailing  up  the  Sacramento  River,  on  Monday  night, 
January  30.     I  send  a  sketch  of  my  whereabouts  since  : 

"  Tuesday,  Jan.  31. — Rode  forty  miles  by  stage  to  lone  Valley  ;  visited 
gold  diggings ;  rode  five  miles  on  mule  to  see  parts  of  the  valley ;  preached 
and  lectured  to  young  men. 

Wednesday,  Feb.  1. — Rode  sixteen  miles  on  horseback;  visited  quartz 
mills  at  Amador ;  preached  in  Jackson  at  night. 

Thursday,  Feb.  2. — Rode  ten  miles  on  horseback  ;  climbed  Mokelumne 
Butte,  a  high  mountain ;  had  a  splendid  prosj^ect  (had  a  bad  fall,  tearing 
the  skin  off  my  knuckles,  and  worse  still  the  knee  of  my  trousers) ;  walked 
several  miles,  visiting  camp  of  Digger  Indians ;  preached  at  Mokelumne 
at  night,  and  talked  to  young  men. 

Friday,  Feb.  3. — Rode  forty  miles  to  Sonora  by  stage;  immense  hills, 
steepest  I  ever  rode  over  in  stage,  at  river  Stanislaus ;  no  appointment 
at  night,  by  mistake. 

Saturday,  Feb.4. — Walked  about  country;  preached  at  night. 

Sunday,  Feb.  5. — Dedicated  church  at  eleven ;  rode  in  buggy  in  rain 
to  Columbia, four  miles;  preached  at  three;  very  hard  rain,  not  pouring, 
but  coming  down;  rode  two  miles  in  buggy  in  rain;  then  walked  two 
miles  in  dark  and  rain — the  mud  not  quite  knee  deep. 

Monday,  Feb.  6. — Rode  seventy  miles  in  stage  to  Stockton ;  rain  part 
of  the  day. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  7. — Walked  around  Stockton  and  wrote ;  preached  at 
night. 

Wednesday,  Feb.  8. — By  stage  fifty-five  miles  to  Sacramento. 

Thursday,  Feb.  9. — By  stage  twenty -eight  miles  to  Mormon  Island; 
walked  over  the  hills;  preached  at  night. 

Friday,  Feb.  10. — By  stage  twenty-three  miles  to  Coloma;  preached 
at  night. 

Saturday,  Feb.  11.  —  Visited  mill-race  where  gold  was  first  found; 
walked  over  high  hills  to  Uniontown  and  back,  three  miles ;  rode  to 
Cold  Springs  on  horseback,  five  miles ;  preached  at  two  p.m.  ;  rode  horse- 
back six  miles  to  Diamond  Springs. 

Sunday, Feb.  12. — Dedicated  church;  a  severe  snow-storm;  rode  in 
storm  to  Placerville,  horseback,  three  miles;  addressed  Sunday-school  at 
three ;  preached  at  night. 

Monday,  Feb.  13. — Walked  several  miles  ;   visited  upper  Placerville  ; 


STARTS  FOR   OREGON.  317 

rode  back  three  miles  to  Diamond  Springs ;   saw  at  Placerville, 

tending  bar  in  a  groggery ;  is  a  doctor  making  $1000  a  month ; 

an(j are  digging  gold;  walked  two  miles;  preached  at  night 

at  Mud  Springs. 

Tuesday,  Feb.  14.  — By  stage  forty -five  miles  to  Sacramento,  and  am 
now  writing  to  you.  So  much  for  the  diary,  and  so  endeth  the  second 
chapter. 

"  And  now  you  may  rest  awhile  in  reading,  as  I  do  from  writing— or 
rather  change  to  other  writing— and  so  I  kiss  my  hand  and,  waving  it 
towards  the  Rocky  Mountains,  say, '  Good-night,  peaceful  dreams  to  you. 
Schlafen  sie  wohV  " 

He  was  so  delighted  with  California  that  he  was  inclined 
to  make  it  his  home.  In  February  he  writes :  "  Had  I  you 
with  me  I  could  live  contentedly  in  this  land  for  several 
years.  There  is  a  wide  field  for  usefulness,  and  there  are 
few  who  seem  to  comprehend  the  actual  condition  of  things." 
And  again,  the  same  month :  "  What  would  you  think  of  a 
home  in  California  ?  I  have  been  very  warmly  urged  to  fix 
my  residence  here,  and  I  confess  were  you  and  the  children 
with  me,  I  think  I  could  spend  a  few  years  very  pleasant- 
lv,  in  trying  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  Church  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  It  is  a  strange  and  a  peculiar  country.  Every- 
thing in  society  is  on  a  grand  scale ;  everything  is  under 
high  pressure,  and  I  believe  great  good  might  be  done  by 
plans  well  directed  and  promptly  and  vigorously  executed. 
But  I  think  I  almost  see  you  throw  down  the  letter  and 
say, '  Catch  me  going  to  California !'  Well,  then,  pick  it  up 
again,  and  I  will  drop  that  subject." 

Steamers  from  San  Francisco  to  Oregon  were  very  uncer- 
tain. He  could  not  find  one  starting  in  time  to  enable  him 
to  reach  the  Oregon  Conference  on  the  day  of  its  opening. 
"  I  have  felt  very  much  regret  that  I  have  been  so  long- 
detained,  and  it  is  now  questionable  whether  I  shall  reach 
the  Oregon  Conference  at  all— certainly  not  for  several  days 
after  its  commencement.  To  have  come  so  far  and  yet  to 
miss  my  Conference,  by  reason  of  the  irregularity  of  the 
steamers,  is  hard  to  bear ;  but  I  must  try  patiently  to  sub- 


318  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

rnit."  This  delay  led  to  a  struggle  to  reach  the  place  of 
Conference  session  in  the  heart  of  the  Willamette  valley, 
which  illustrates  his  nerve  and,  as  well,  the  perils  of  travel 
in  the  wilderness.  On  the  way  up  the  Columbia  River,  he 
writes  to  his  wife : 

"  Steamer  Peytona,  March  15, 1854. 

"I  am  now  on  the  steamer  Peytona,  sailing  up  the  Columbia  River  be- 
tween Astoria  and  Portland ;  Ave  expect  to  reach  Portland  this  even- 
ing. .  .  . 

"Last  night,  while  standing  on  the  deck  of  the  vessel,  I  could  but  no- 
tice the  position  of  the  North  Star,  which  seemed  to  have  risen  so  high 
above  me.  We  are  here  in  latitude  4G^G,  or  near  that,  and  a  few  weeks 
ago  I  was  in  latitude  7°,  where  this  star  was  almost  at  the  horizon.  The 
climate  changes,  the  plains  and  mountains  change,  the  sea  changes,  the 
very  stars  seem  to  change ;  there  is  above,  beyond,  around,  the  Eternal, 
the  Infinite.  There  is  a  spirit  land,  unchanging  and  unchangeable.  In 
my  dreams  of  the  night,  of  late,  loved  ones  from  that  sphere  have  been 
visiting  me.  I  seemed  to  be  again  in  their  society,  and  thoughts  of  the 
past  and  the  Invisible  have  been  strangely  intermingled.  I  have  felt 
that  mind  cannot  change.  The  loved  ones  of  my  childhood  have  my 
affections  still.  The  friends  of  my  youth  are  bound  to  me  by  bonds  in- 
dissoluble. Loved  ones,  dearer  than  life,  parted  now  by  mountains  and 
by  seas,  seem  but  the  dearer  for  the  distance,  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
I  fancy  them  sometimes  as  nearer  for  the  separation.  How  often  does  our 
little  family  circle  rise  around  me,  as  if  I  were  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  even 
our  eldest,  though  long  asleep  in  Jesus,  seems  not  unfrequently  one  of 
the  group.  Strange  are  the  sympathies  of  our  nature,  and  they  point 
forward  as  well  as  upward.  They  have  more  than  mortal  strength,  and 
will  be  satisfied  only  when  the  flock  shall  be  gathered  where  there  is  one 
fold  and  one  shepherd.  But  I  forget  myself  when  I  begin  to  moralize. 
It  is  a  letter  of  news  you  wish,  and  not  a  page  of  sentimental  prosing. 
And  yet  it  is  so  easy  for  me  to  glide  off  from  the  outward  to  the  inward, 
from  my  observations  to  my  fancies.  "Well,  well,  you  must  pardon  me, 
for  I  have  been  so  constantly  in  the  habit,  for  these  eighteen  years  and 
more,  of  talking  my  whole  heart  to  you,  that  the  current  flows  right  out 
of  the  end  of  my  pen  when  I  begin  the  sheet  with  your  name. 

"To-morrow  Conference  begins  at  Belknap  Settlement,  which  is  four 
days'  journey  from  Portland,  where  our  boat  will  stop  this  evening.  I 
hope,  however,  by  travelling  all  night,  Saturday  night,  through  a  wild, 
woody  country,  if  I  can  get  a  guide,  to  reach  my  brethren  by  Sabbath 
morning.    This  missing  Conference,  or  half  of  it,  after  coming  so  far,  is  for 


IN  THE  OREGON  WILDERNESS.  319 

me  a  great  trial,  but  I  cannot  help  it,  and  so  must  submit.  To-morrow 
I  expect,  Providence  permitting,  to  see  Oregon  City ;  Friday  evening, 
Salem ;  Saturday  evening,  Maysville ;  and  then  by  some  way,  if  possible, 
get  through  to  Conference." 

Pushing  as  rapidly  as  possible  for  the  seat  of  the  Confer- 
ence, he  took,  at  Oregon  City,  a  steamer  for  Corvallis,  on 
the  Willamette  Kiver,  the  nearest  landing  to  the  place  of 
session.     This  is  what  he  meets  on  entering  the  cabin  : 

"Passing  into  the  cabin,  I  found  one  school-teacher  and  three  or  four 
girls  or  ladies  squat  on  the  floor,  busily  engaged  in  playing  cards,  which 
appears  to  be  the  inward  passion  of  the  Western  coast.  Gentlemen  in  the 
cabin,  boys  on  the  beach,  Indians  around  their  camp,  and  ladies  in  their 
clubs,  all  may  be  seen  playing  cards.  On  the  left  side,  about  two  miles 
below  the  old  mission  site,  we  passed  the  place  of  Gervais,  a  Frenchman, 
said  to  have  accompanied  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  at  this  house  Mr.  Lee 
preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  Willamette.  Shortly  after  we  tied  up 
until  the  moon  rose,  when,  again  starting,  we  grounded  on  a  sand-bar 
some  eight  or  ten  miles  from  Salem.  Though  exceedingly  anxious  to 
hurry  on,  I  found  it  impossible  to  land  and  get  a  conveyance.  The  yawl 
of  the  boat  was  employed  in  taking  soundings  and  trying  to  procure  a 
lighter.  There  was  an  island  and  a  large  number  of  sloughs  on  our  left, 
so  as  to  prevent  our  journeying  if  landed.  We  finally  got  loose  at  nine  a.m., 
but  were  detained  until  eleven  by  various  circumstances.  We  reached 
Salem  at  quarter-past  one,  and  hastened  to  procure  some  mode  of  convey- 
ance to  Corvallis. 

"  Governor  Davis  met  me  on  the  wharf  with  his  usual  kind  manner 
and  good-humored  smile,  and  pleasantly  remarked  that  when  we  last  met 
in  Indiana  we  did  not  expect  to  meet  in  Oregon,  he  as  governor  and  I 
as  bishop.  By  the  help  of  a  friend  wdio  had  joined  me  at  Portland, 
Mr.  Bonhard,  Mr.  Campbell's  son-in-law,  and  myself  succeeded  in  pro- 
curing a  wagon  to  convey  us  to  Corvallis  for  $40 — I  paying  $30 — with 
the  promise  of  going  through  very  rapidly.  Our  vehicle  was  a  light 
spring  wagon,  rather  frail,  with  but  one  seat;  and  our  horses,  though 
promised  an  excellent  team,  were  very  small.  Soon  after  starting  our 
traces  got  loose  several  times,  and  the  sides  of  the  wagon-bed,  held  to- 
gether by  a  string,  broke  the  string  and  let  down  our  seat.  Mr.  B.  sat 
behind  us,  on  his  trunk,  and  I  on  the  seat,  one  end  of  it  elevated,  the 
other  on  the  floor.  We  passed  over  hills  south  of  Salem,  resembling 
California  hills,  with  thin  oak  timber,  scrubby  and  orchard-like.  The 
land  is  rolling  and  nearly  mountainous.     Some  very  fine  views  were  had 


320  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

of  the  Coast  range,  the  Cascade  range,  and  the  snow-peaks  of  Mt.  Hood, 
Mt.  Jefferson,  and  the  Sisters.  Passed  the  governor's  residence,  eight 
miles  from  Salem  ;  came  to  the  top  of  a  hill  overlooking  the  Willamette 
valley  at  Humphrey's  ferry.  Here  a  beautiful  view  opened  before  us. 
The  Willamette  winding  below  our  feet,  and,  in  the  distance,  wide  plains 
witli  improvements  here  and  there ;  beyond,  prairies,  forests,  flowers,  and 
fields  green  with  wheat,  and  the  mountain  range,  all  made  a  delightful 
prospect ;  while  the  evening  rays  of  the  sun  gently  shed  a  mellow  brill- 
iancy over  the  landscape.  We  crossed  the  ferry.  The  ferrymen  landed 
us  with  our  wagon  towards  the  shore,  to  the  no  small  consternation  of 
our  Jehu,  who  had  been  boasting  of  his  Yankee  origin  and  his  power  of 
making  money.  The  boat  was  shoved  off  and  turned,  and  we  were  soon 
under  way,  passing  a  mile  or  so  of  thick  fir  woods,  with  very  bad  roads. 
Emerging  from  the  forest,  we  entered  a  prairie  skirted  with  a  lake,  a 
slough  on  our  left,  and  missed  our  way  in  consequence  of  the  fencing  up 
of  claims.  This  was  found  to  be  almost  universally  the  case.  ...  It  was 
now  twilight,  and  in  a  mile  or  two  farther  our  driver  lost  his  way.  After 
winding  to  several  points  of  the  compass,  we  brought  up  at  the  farm- 
house of  Mr.  Collins,  with  whom  we  made  a  bargain  to  send  us  on  to 
Corvallis.  But  the  horses  had  been  turned  out  Saturday  evening,  and  it 
was  pretty  dark,  aud  they  must  be  hunted  before  we  could  proceed." 

Baffled  though  he  was,  he  "was  resolved  not  to  fail  in  ac- 
complishing the  object  of  his  long  journey  by  sea  and  land, 
and  pushed  on  through  the  darkness  of  the  night.  The 
narrative  continues : 

"Finding  who  we  were,  we  were  treated  very  kindly  and  furnished 
with  supper.  Horses  were  procured  and  harnessed  to  the  wagon,  leav- 
ing our  driver  and  horses.  A  son  of  Mr.  Collins  started  with  us  to  Cor- 
vallis at  ten  o'clock  at  night.  Taking  advautage  of  some  sheaf  oats  put 
in  the  hinder  part  of  the  wagon,  I  lay  down  on  them,  and  thus  rode  a 
large  part  of  the  way,  which  was  down  through  sloughs  and  mud,  reach- 
ing Corvallis  at  two  at  night.  Here  all  were  in  bed.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Campbell  were  absent  at  Conference,  and  I  could  not  learn  how  I  was  to 
get  forward  to  Belknap's  Settlement.  Lying  down,  I  slept  until  sunrise, 
when  I  was  awakened  by  Mr.  B.,  and  found  the  Indian  boy  at  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's had  been  sent  to  Judge  Stewart's,  a  mile  below  town,  for  a  horse. 
Judge  Stewart  was  to  have  accompanied  me,  but,  despairing  of  my  com- 
ing, the  horses  had  been  turned  out.  Before  a  horse  could  be  caught 
and  brought  to  town  it  was  a  quarter-past  eight.  Assured,  however,  it 
was  only  fifteen  miles  away,  I  was  immediately  in  the  saddle,  crossed 


A   FRONTIER    CONFERENCE.  321 

Mary's  River  in  a  ferry-boat,  and,  over  a  very  muddy  road  and  exceeding- 
ly deep  sloughs,  I  rode  rapidly,  two  men  being  my  pioneers. 

"Mary's  Peak,  covered  with  snow,  was  visible  all  the  time  some  thirty 
miles  distant.  Five  miles  riding  on  a  level  not  far  from  the  Willamette 
brought  us  to  clumps  of  trees  ;  ten  miles  to  an  undulating  ridge — fifteen 
miles— brought  us  to  Belknap's  Settlement,  near  the  junction  of  the  Long 
Tom  and  the  Willamette.  We  rode  along  Long  Tom,  a  dull,  sluggish 
stream  in  this  part  of  its  course,  said  to  have  been  named  from  an  early 
settler— Long  Tom  Barr.  Having  parted  with  my  guides,  I  learned  that 
the  church  was  yet  five  miles  distant  and  situated  among  the  spurs  of  the 
Buttes.  Riding  on  and  carrying  my  satchel,  I  at  length  came  in  sight  of 
a  log  school-house,  with  a  little  board  shed  attached  temporarily  to  it. 
It  stood  on  the  top  of  a  butte,  in  great  measure  surrounded  by  sloughs, 
and  nearly  a  mile  from  any  house.  Horses  and  wagons  were  tied  up 
around  it,  Alighting  and  divesting  myself  of  my  outer  wraps,  I  stepped 
into  the  church  just  as  the  congregation  engaged  in  prayer  at  the  close 
of,  as  I  was  informed,  an  excellent  sermon  by  Brother  Pearson,  who  had 
acted  as  president  of  the  Conference.  At  the  close  of  prayer  some  one 
announced  my  name ;  going  forward,  an  appointment  was  arranged  for 
half-past  two.  My  place  of  lodging  was  a  mile  and  a  half  off,  and,  get- 
ting my  dinner,  it  was  time  for  preaching.  Preached  on  '  Oneness'  and 
ordained  three  deacons.     At  night  did  not  go  out." 

To  reach  this  log  school-house  in  the  woods  of  Oregon  he 
had  journeyed  several  thousand  miles  by  sea,  had  encoun- 
tered the  difficulties  of  river  navigation  in  a  new  country, 
and  in  the  last  desperate  struggle  had  ridden  nearly  all  the 
night  before,  sleeping  in  his  wagon  on  sheaves  of  oats,  and 
then  had  pushed  forward  twenty  miles  on  horseback  to  find 
himself  in  time  to  join  in  the  Sabbath  worship.  And  he 
had  his  reward.  He  was  among  men  who  were  laying  the 
foundations — not  of  empires,  far  better  than  that — of  com- 
monwealths of  self -controlled  and  all -controlling  citizens. 
They  were  in  the  midst  of  their  struggle  with  the  forces  of 
untamed  Nature  and  bore  its  marks  upon  them.  I  find  in  a 
paper  of  later  but  uncertain  date  a  description  of  the  scene, 
written  by  one  who  was  on  the  spot.  The  time  is  Sunday 
morning,  and  preachers  and  people  are  assembled  for  the 
Conference  love-feast : 
21 


322  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"Reader,  did  you  ever  attend  a  Conference  love-feast»on  the  frontier, 
where  common  sufferings  and  deprivations  and  trials  had  moulded  all 
hearts  into  one  ?  where  a  universal  poverty  equalized  everything,  so  that 
there  could  be  no  classes  or  grades  of  appointment  ?  If  not,  we  pity  you. 
You  have  lost  the  sight  of  the  greenest  spot  that  ever  blossomed  in  the 
path  of  an  itinerant. 

"The  love-feast  of  this  Conference  was  rich  with  experience  and  his- 
tory, with  pathos  and  unction,  all  finding  expression  in  word  and  song, 
in  tear  and  shout,  rendering  the  hour  indescribable.  At  its  close  the 
president  of  the  Conference  preached  a  sermon  of  great  power,  and  just 
as  he  resumed  his  seat  the  tall  form  of  Bishop  Simpson  appeared  in  the 
door,  and  Conference  and  congregation  were  thrown  into  a  whirl  of  ex- 
citement as  they  welcomed  him  to  this  rustic  sanctuary.  It  was  at  once 
announced  that  he  would  preach  in  the  afternoon.  When  two  o'clock 
came,  and  the  bishop  arose  in  that  humble  desk  to  preach  and  gave  out, 

'  When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross 
On  which  the  Prince  of  Glory  died,' 

how  the  words  of  that  old  hymn  beat  with  new  life !  And  his  prayer ! 
dews  of  heaven  could  not  distil  more  sweetly.  And  his  sermon !  who 
shall  describe  the  indescribable  or  speak  the  unutterable  ?"* 

His  perils  of  waters  and  perils  in  the  wilderness  were  not 
all  past.  His  plan  of  travel  included  a  trip  up  the  Columbia 
River  to  the  Dalles,  where  was  an  important  Methodist  mis- 
sion station.  Accordingly  he  retraced  his  way,  going  down 
the  "Willamette  to  Portland,  and  from  thence  up  the  Co- 
lumbia. Returning  to  Portland,  he  writes  of  this  trip  to 
his  wife : 

"Portland,  April  10,  1854. 

"I  reached  this  city  on  Saturday  morning,  after  a  difficult  and  some- 
what perilous  journey  to  the  Cascades  and  Dalles  of  the  Columbia  Eiver. 

'•  I  reached  my  Conference  on  the  Sabbath  of  its  session,  after  having  trav- 
elled all  Saturday  night,  my  guide  missing  his  way  in  the  woods.  Con- 
ference closed  on  Tuesday  afternoon;  that  evening  I  rode  twenty  miles 
on  horseback  to  Corvallis;  spent  there  three  days  waiting  for  a  steam- 
boat, but  it  was  sunk  on  its  passage  up,  and  I  started  on  horseback  for 
Salem,  some  thirty-two  miles  distant;  but  my  horse  gave  out,  and  I  was 
compelled  to  walk  part  of  my  journey.     There  I  spent  Sabbath,  preach- 

*  This  sermon  is  more  fully  described  on  p.  298. 


SLEEPING  IN  AN  INDIAN  CAMP.  323 

ing  twice  ;  addressed  the  church  on  Monday  night ;  attended  to  mission- 
ary business  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  and  on  Wednesday  left  on  a  steamer 
for  Oregon  City.  Thursday  from  Oregon  City  to  this  place  (Portland); 
Friday  by  steamer  to  the  Cascades,  on  my  way  to  the  Dalles,  to  look  af- 
ter mission  property.  There  the  steamer  above  the  Cascades  was  broken, 
and,  after  having  waited  for  a  sail-boat  until  Monday,  I  was  obliged  to 
hire  an  Indian  canoe,  and  with  Brother  Pearne,  who  accompanied  me,  to 
row  up  the  river.  About  ten  o'clock  at  night  we  reached  the  Indian 
camp,  where,  as  it  rained,  we  were  compelled  to  lodge  in  a  miserable  In- 
dian hut,  among  the  filthy  natives,  until  the  morning  light  appeared. 
The  next  evening  we  reached  the  Dalles.  There  spent  Wednesday. 
Thursday  tried  to  get  down  the  river  in  a  schooner,  but,  the  wind  being 
adverse,  after  struggling  for  twenty  hours,  and  being  nearly  capsized, 
and  escaping  by  a  hand's-breadth  from  being  dashed  upon  the  rocks,  we 
left  the  schooner  and  took  a  small  boat  or  skiff.  We  rowed  all  night, 
except  three  hours,  when  the  crew  gave  out.  Making  a  fire  upon  the 
shore,  miles  from  any  house,  we  threw  ourselves  upon  the  ground,  and  I 
had  a  good,  sweet  sleep.  Friday  reached  the  Cascades,  and  Saturday, 
by  steamer,  returned  here. 

"  Should  Providence  spare  my  life,  I  expect  to  reach  San  Francisco  on 
my  return  in  the  next  ten  or  twelve  days,  and  it  is  now  highly  probable 
that  I  shall  sail  from  thence  by  the  steamer  of  the  first  of  May.  If  so, 
and  Providence  should  see  it  best  to  keep  me  from  accident  aud  disease, 
I  may  reach  New  York  the  latter  part  of  May." 


XV. 

AN  EPISCOPAL  TOUR  TO  TEXAS. 
JOURNEY  TO  EUROPE. 

185S-1857'. 


Many  Gaps  in  Bishop  Simpson's  Papers. — Episcopal  Tour  in  Texas. — 
Travels  with  Bewley,  the  Martyr.— Rough  Stage-riding. — His  Connec- 
tion with  the  Founding  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  India. — 
The  Rev.  William  Butler's  Commission. — Appointed  in  1856,  with  Dr. 
McClintock,  a  Delegate  to  the  British  Conference. — Rev.  W.  H.  Mil- 
burn  Joins  the  Party. — "  You,  Dr.  McClintock?" — Reception  of  the 
Delegates  by  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference.— Their  Speeches. — No 
Rest  at  Home  or  Abroad.— World's  Conference  of  the  Evangelical  Alli- 
ance in  Berlin. — Krummacher's  Address  of  Welcome. — Replies  on  Be- 
half of  Americans  by  Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright  and  Bishop  Simpson. 
—Entertainment  of  the  Alliance  at  Potsdam  by  the  King  of  Prussia.— 
A  Handsome  Reception.— Sermon  on  Christian  Unity  by  Bishop  Simp- 
son in  the  Garnison  Kirche,  Berlin. 


WITH  ANTHONY  BEWLET  IN  TEXAS.  327 


XV. 

In  examining  Bishop  Simpson's  papers  one  has  frequent 
reason  for  regret  that  gaps  are  now  and  then  met  with 
which  cannot  be  filled.  Such  a  gap  appears  in  the  corre- 
spondence of  1855.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  he  made  a 
trip  from  St.  Louis  to  Bonham,  Texas,  where  he  held  the 
Texas  Conference.  Part  of  the  way  his  travelling  compan- 
ion was  Anthony  Bewley,  known  to  us  as  one  of  the  Church's 
martyrs.  Though  a  native  of  Tennessee,  Bewley  had  re- 
fused, at  the  time  of  the  division  in  1845,  to  enter  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  South.  For  a  while  he  preached  quite  inde- 
pendently of  all  ecclesiastical  fellowship  ;  but  in  1818,  when 
the  Plan  of  Separation  had  been  declared  null  and  void,  he 
entered  the  Missouri,  and  afterwards  the  Arkansas  and  Tex- 
as Conference.  His  connection  with  a  Northern  Church 
subjected  him,  in  that  wild  region,  to  constant  peril,  so  that 
in  1856  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Missouri.  In  1860  he 
started  for  Texas  again,  saying  to  his  friends  as  he  left 
them :  "  Let  them  hang  or  burn  me  on  my  return  if  they 
choose ;  hundreds  will  rise  up  out  of  my  ashes."  His  words 
proved  to  be  prophetic :  he  was  pursued  by  a  mob  and 
hanged  on  a  tree,  Sept.  13, 1860. 

The  perils  of  the  trip  to  Texas  in  1855  were  clear  to 
Bishop  Simpson's  mind,  and  his  letters  to  his  family  show 
much  anxiety.  Unfortunately  we  are  without  any  account 
of  the  session  of  the  Conference,  or  of  the  spirit  of  the 
men  who  were  its  members.  His  journey  was  made  by 
rail  to  Hermann,  Missouri,  thence  by  stage,  open  wagon,  or 
whatever  could  be  found,  now  and  then  on  horseback,  and 


328  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

we  suspect,  more  than  once,  for  short  distances,  on  foot, 
with  saddle-bags  hanging  from  his  arm  and  overcoat  on  his 
shoulder.  Before  starting  he  thus  writes  to  his  wife  from 
St.  Louis :  "  Time  hangs  very  heavily  on  my  hands,  and  I 
lone  to  be  at  home  again.  But  I  do  not  know  whether  I 
can  hope  for  much  continued  domestic  happiness  while  driv- 
ing over  the  world  as  I  do.  I  hardly  seem  to  be  made  for 
a  bishop.  I  guess  Stevens  is  pretty  near  right  in  that  mat- 
ter." And  again,  from  the  same  point,  Oct.  15,  1855 :  "  I 
have  sent  my  carpet-sack  to  Cincinnati ;  possibly  Bishop 
Janes  may  take  it  to  Pittsburgh.  I  have  purchased  a  pair  of 
saddle-bags  and  prepared  an  outfit  for  travelling  by  horse 
or  mule,  as  I  may  be  obliged  to  do  for  several  hundred  miles. 
I  shall  learn  better  at  Springfield,  from  whence  I  will  try  to 
write  you.  May  God  watch  over  and  protect  you  and  keep 
you  and  the  children  in  all  your  ways." 

From  Hermann,  where  the  railroad  ended,  he  began  to 
"rough  it"  in  the  usual  Western  style.  He  writes  from 
Jefferson  City:  "I  took  stage,  or,  rather,  a  hack  sort  of 
wagon.  Brother  Goode  was  with  me.  Nine  passengers 
could  sit  inside,  and  there  were  ten  of  us.  I  found  it  so  un- 
comfortable within  that  I  took  an  outside  seat  with  the 
driver.  Here,  unfortunately,  the  Utah  and  New  Mexico 
mail  going  through,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  mail  mat- 
ter, so  filled  the  space  that  I  was  perched  high  up,  with 
scarcely  a  spot  to  put  my  feet.  In  this  position  I  rode  the 
afternoon  and  all  night,  and  until  eleven  to-day,  save  a 
short  change  this  morning." 

Near  Springfield  he  found  the  home  of  Anthony  Bew- 
ley,  and  with,  him  travelled  to  the  seat  of  the  Conference. 
He  writes  again :  "  Springfield,  Missouri,  Oct.  18,  1855. — 
I  arrived  at  Brother  Bewley's,  four  miles  from  this  place, 
a  little  after  noon  to-day.  I  had  to  walk  and  carry  my 
saddle-bajrs,  coat,  and  blanket  some  two  miles  and  a  half 
to  reach  his  house.  He  was  just  starting  for  Conference. 
I  go  in  his  buggy,  drawn  by  two  young  and  small  mules. 


PLANTING   OUR   CHURCE  IN  INDIA.  329 

The  buggy  is  narrow  and  without  a  top,  but  it  will  be  com- 
fortable.    I  am  well  provided  for.'' 

The  rest  of  this  interesting  journey  is  a  blank ;  we  have 
only  a  short  note,  written  on  his  way  back,  from  Washing- 
ton, Arkansas :  "  I  left  Bonham  on  Monday  morning  last, 
and  now,  on  Friday  evening,  I  am  only  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy  miles  on  my  journey.  Thus  far  I  have  travelled 
as  fast  as  the  mail.  But,  as  it  will  run  on  Sabbath,  and  I 
must  lie  by,  this  letter  may  reach  you  some  days  before  I 
get  home.  When  I  stop  for  Sunday  I  have  no  chance  of 
stage  for  three  days,  but  possibly  I  may  get  a  private  con- 
veyance. This  is  uncertain.  It  is  right,  however,  that  you 
should  know  ray  route  in  case  of  any  accident." 

It  was  his  privilege  during  the  period  from  1S53  to  1S56 
to  take  part  with  Dr.  Durbin  in  preparing  for  the  planting 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  India.  In  the  first 
year  named  $7000  had  been  appropriated  for  opening  the 
India  Mission.  Bishop  Simpson,  by  appointment  of  his  col- 
leagues, had  episcopal  supervision.  The  letters  written  to 
him  during  the  three  years  by  Dr.  Durbin,  all  of  them  re- 
peating the  question,  "  Can  you  find  me  a  man  for  India  ?" 
become,  as  one  reads  them  to-day,  pathetic.  No  man  offered 
himself,  though  we  know  now  *  that  the  Eev.  William  But- 
ler was  ready  to  accept  the  call,  but  was  restrained  by  fear 
of  snatching  away  an  honor  which,  in  his  judgment,  be- 
longed of  right  to  some  American-born  Methodist  preacher. 
Dr.  Durbin,  reduced  to  despair  by  the  silence  of  the  Church, 
published  an  appeal  in  the  Christian  Advocate  of  May  10, 
1855 ;  his  state  of  mind  may  be  inferred  from  the  title  of 
the  appeal—  The  Crisis.  "We  suggest,"  he  writes,  "that 
the  presiding  elders  cast  about  them  and  see  if  the  men  are 
not  in  their  ranks  whom  God  is  moving  to  this  work,  and 
who  need  but  to  be  called  out  in  order  to  manifest  their 


*  See  Dr.  Butler's  volume:  "From  Boston  to  Bareily  and  Back,'1  pp. 
63  to  72. 


330  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

readiness  to  go.  .  .  .  We  sincerely  trust  that  we  may  be  put 
in  communication  with  the  brethren  chosen  of  God  to  found 
and  execute  what  we  deem  to  be  a  great  work  of  the  Church, 
viz.,  to  take  a  worthy  part  in  the  evangelization  of  India." 
With  what  feelings  Bishop  Simpson,  after  such  delay,  wrote 
the  commission  of  the  Rev.  William  Butler  may  readily  be 
imagined.  We  reproduce  it  here  as  a  memento  of  a  historic 
event,  for  out  of  this  unpromising  beginning  have  grown 
three  Annual  Conferences,  superintended  by  a  bishop  for 
India  and  Malaysia,  with  more  than  eleven  thousand  adher- 
ents to  the  Christian  faith,  and  all  the  appointments  of  a 
well-organized  Church. 

Immediately  upon  his  return  from  his  long  tour  to  Texas, 
he  entered  again  upon  the  excessive  labors  so  characteristic 
of  him.  In  the  following  fashion  he  spends  a  Sunday  dur- 
ing the  General  Conference  Session  at  Indianapolis,  May, 
1856 :  "  I  visited  ]Sew  Albany  and  Jeffersonville  on  Satur- 
day evening.  Went  to  Wesley  Chapel  Sunday-school  on 
Sabbath  morning  and  opened  it  with  prayer ;  visited  Rob- 
erts Chapel  Sunday  -  school  and  addressed  the  scholars  ; 
preached  at  Centenary  Church ;  helped  to  administer  sacra- 
ment at  Roberts  Chapel  at  half-past  three,  and  preached  at 
Wesley  Chapel  at  night.  Rose  at  four  next  morning ;  at 
half-past  four  got  in  omnibus,  stopped  at  Jeffersonville  to 
breakfast.  Dined  at  Dr.  Cunan's,  and  left  at  quarter-past 
three  for  this  place,  where  I  arrived  at  eight.  So  much  for 
the  journey." 

Another  note  from  the  seat  of  the  General  Conference 
gives  a  hint  of  the  purpose  to  send  him  as  delegate  to  Eng- 
land : 

"Indianapolis,  May  21. 
"There  is  nothing  clone  as  to  districting  the  bishops,  and  nothing  I 
think  will  be  done.  I  suppose  I  have  pretty  deeply  offended  the  North- 
ern brethren  by  saying  I  thought  their  proposed  action  against  slavery 
unconstitutional.  But  this  will  likely  work  well  and  please  you,  for  be- 
fore this  a  large  number  of  them  said  they  were  going  to  send  me  to 
England.  Now  I  think  it  will  not  be  done,  and,  if  spared,  I  shall  be  the 
more  with  you.'' 


g  > 


V   r  8  H  ? 


;,  •  r^ ; 


5 


d\ 


v^ 


V 


ON  THE  VOYAGE  TO  ENGLAND.  331 

He  was,  nevertheless,  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  British 
Wesleyan  Conference,  with  Doctor  McClintock  as  an  asso- 
ciate. This  was  for  him  a  most  memorable  journey ;  it  ex- 
tended to  the  Continent,  where  he  attended  the  Conference 
of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  at  Berlin,  and  from  thence  to  the 
Holy  Land.  His  letters,  while  abroad,  to  his  family  are  no 
longer  brief  itineraries,  but  are  full  of  life  and  enthusiasm; 
they  will  best  tell  the  story  of  his  sickness  and  health,  of 
the  traveller's  pleasures  and  mishaps.  He  left  New  York 
in  May,  1857,  crowded  to  the  last  moment  before  his  depart- 
ure with  engagements  for  sermons  and  addresses.  His  son 
Charles  was  on  shipboard  with  him ;  Dr.  McClintock  and  the 
Eev.  Mr.  "William  II.  Milburn,  who  became  one  of  the  party, 
joined  him  in  Liverpool.     The  first  letter  is  from  that  city : 

"  May  25, 1857. 

"  Many  thanks  to  a  kind  Providence  for  protection  amid  the  dangers 
of  an  Atlantic  voyage.  And  here,  sure  enough,  I  am  in  Old  England, 
the  land  of  story  and  of  song,  the  land  of  brave  men  and  fair  women  for 
centuries  past.  And  yet  I  am  in  a  kind  of  bewilderment.  Am  I  really 
here  ?  I  am  ready  to  ask  myself;  for  everything  is  so  much  like  what 
I  have  seen  elsewhere,  and  so  many  marks  of  a  common  civilization  and 
a  common  Christianity  are  about  me,  and  the  same  language  which  I 
have  always  heard  I  hear  still.  I  can  scarcely  feel  that  I  am  abroad,  and 
yet  there  are  differences.    But  you  want  no  essays ;  well,  then,  to  my  story. 

"  That  last  white  handkerchief  I  saw  waved,  was  it  yours  ?  I  fancied 
so ;  I  know  you  did  wave,  and  I  waved,  and  Charles  waved,  and  we  all 
waved.  But  when  you  and  we  quit  waving  our  pocket-handkerchiefs, 
and  you  turned  homeward  on  the  train,  we  kept  waving  away,  sometimes 
a  great  deal  more  than  we  wished.  At  least  Charles  thought  so,  and  so 
thought  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  one  hundred  and  eighty  out  ot 
the  two  hundred  passengers  who  went  through  all  sorts  of  grimaces,  and 
gyrations,  and  gesticulations,  and  utterances.  But  the  waters  are  safely 
crossed,  and  once  more  we  are  on  dry  land. 

"  Somehow  I  get  to  the  end  of  my  story  too  soon ;  I  scarcely  start  from 
America  but  I  find  myself  landing  here.  It  was  not  so  in  reality,  for  the 
days  seemed  long,  very  long,  as  we  tossed  on  the  ocean,  with  the  ther- 
mometer, as  it  was  two  days,  down  to  32°.  I  said  the  days  were  long— so 
they  were,  for  the  sun  did  not  set  till  after  eight,  and  it  was  bright  twi- 
light until  ten.     And  the  daylight  broke  at  half-past  two,  and  the  sun 


332  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

was  up  again  about  four,  while  wc  were  on  our  Northern  passage — for 
we  passed  north  of  Ireland.  But  here  I  am  again  across  the  sea  before 
my  story  is  done.  Well,  then,  besides  Mr.  Holmes,  we  had  on  board  Mr. 
Wandell,  of  New  York,  a  merchant  going  to  China  for  tea,  a  member  of 
our  church,  and  Mrs.  Havemeyer,  also  a  member,  whose  husband  was  for- 
merly Mayor  of  New  York.  Then  we  had  Mayor  or  ex-Mayor  Brady, 
with  his  wife  and  two  daughters,  and  a  number  of  others  with  whom  I 
became  well  acquainted.  The  ladies  generally  were  very  sick,  but  one 
old  woman  from  Louisiana  talked  so  incessantly  from  morning  to  night 
that  she  had  not  time  to  be  sick.  As  for  myself,  though  I  had  some 
headache  aud  a  little  nausea  occasionally,  yet  as  Bishop  Ames  says  of  me, 
'  I  had  not  sense  enough  to  get  sick.'  On  Sabbath  I  was  invited  to  preach, 
and  did  so  to  an  attentive  audience.  This  is  rather  unusual  on  this  line, 
but  the  captain  was  very  polite.  I  had  written  a  letter  on  board,  hoping 
that  I  might  reach  this  city  in  time  to  send  it  by  the  steamer  of  Satur- 
day, but  I  was  too  late.  But  on  arriving  we  got  thinner  paper,  and  I  be- 
gan to  write  the  letter  over  again,  but  somehow  it  would  come  out  a  very 
different  one. 

u  "We  arrived  about  three  on  yesterday  (Sunday)  afternoon.  About 
five  we  got  the  custom-house  officers  and  came  ashore.  We  stopped  at 
the  Adelphi  Hotel,  and  at  six  I  heard  Milburn  preach.  Having  learned 
that  his  party  was  at  the  Union,  I  changed  our  lodging  to  the  Union, 
and  now  we  are  all  together.  They  had  a  delightful  passage  over,  I  sup- 
pose much  more  pleasant  than  ours,  having  arrived  on  Friday  night. 
To-morrow  I  expect  we  shall  go  to  London.  From  thence  it  is  uncer- 
tain what  our  course  will  be." 

Xever  did  a  more  brilliant  company  of  men  go  abroad  to 
represent  a  Church  or  a  people  than  were  now  happily  met 
together  in  the  Union  Hotel,  Liverpool.  Mr.  Milburn's 
almost  total  blindness  gave  an  additional  interest  to  his 
oratory  ;  Dr.  McClintock  was  in  the  maturity  of  his  powers ; 
grace,  polish,  and  strength  were  revealed  in  every  public  ad- 
dress delivered  by  him.  And  Bishop  Simpson  was,  during  this 
trip,  at  his  best.  The  trio  travelled  much  together,  enjoyed 
life  together,  and  together  delighted  the  thousands  who 
thronged  to  hear  them.  In  those  da}Ts,  English  audiences 
listened  more  critically  to  Americans  than  they  do  now. 
America  was,  in  some  sense,  on  trial  before  them;  and 
American  Methodism,  in  the  presence  of  English  Wesley ans, 


A  DROLL  ENCOUNTER.  333 

was  expected  to  give  an  account  of  itself ;  to  prove,  not  so 
much  the  legitimacy  of  its  derivation — that  was  conceded — 
but  its  faithful  adherence,  in  every  point  of  detail,  to  the 
Wesleyan  ideas  of  Church  order.  It  seems  to  us,  of  this 
day,  incredible  that  it  should  be  so,  but  so  it  was.  Our  vis- 
itors, in  1857,  felt  themselves  to  be,  without  fault  of  their 
own,  in  precisely  this  position. 

Mr.  Milburn  gives  an  account  of  one  of  the  first  advent- 
ures of  the  party  in  Liverpool : 

"  Here  is  a  droll  bit  over  which  we  had  a  hearty  laugh. 

"  The  Sunday  after  Doctor  McClintock  and  I  reached 
Liverpool,  while  we  were  waiting  for  the  bishop,  the  doc- 
tor went  to  a  Wesleyan  Chapel,  dressed  as  he  had  been  on 
the  ship,  and  at  the  close  of  the  morning  service  entered 
the  vestry-room.  The  preacher  who  had  officiated,  a  tall, 
dignified  person,  was,  after  the  manner  of  the  time,  taking 
a  glass  of  wine  which  had  been  deferentially  handed  to  him 
by  a  chapel  steward. 

"  The  courteous  doctor  approached,  and  said,  in  his  bland 

tone,   '  The  Keverend  Mr.  ,  I  believe.'     '  That   is  my 

name,'  answered  the  other,  with  some  asperity  of  manner, 
'  have  you  business  with  me  ?  If  so,  pray  state  it  at  once.' 
'  None  whatever,'  said  the  doctor ;  '  I  simply  called  to  pay 
my  respects.'  '  Respects  indeed,'  said  the  Englishman, 
somewhat  tartly, '  and  what  may  be  your  name  V  '  McClin- 
tock,' said  the  doctor.  '  McClintock,'  exclaimed  the  other, 
with  a  slight  touch  of  contempt  in  his  tone. 

"  '  Irish,  I  see.'  Then,  musing  a  moment,  he  added, '  Do 
you  happen  to  be  related  to  the  Eev.  Dr.  McClintock  who 
is  shortly  expected  in  this  country  with  the  American  depu- 
tation to  the  Wesleyan  body  V  '  That  is  my  name,'  said 
the  doctor,  bowing.  '  You,  Dr.  McClintock  V  exclaimed 
the  Briton,  as  he  held  the  half-emptied  glass  in  his  hand, 
and  a  mingled  expression  of  incredulity  and  amazement 
overspread  his  features,  as  he  rapidly  ran  his  eye  over  the 
doctor  from  head  to  foot,  surveying  the  slouch  hat  in  his 


334  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

hand,  his  blue  bocty-coat,  his  brown  waistcoat  showing  the 
shirt-front,  the  brown  trousers,  pausing  longest  upon  the 
black  neck-tie,  and  adding, '  You,  Dr.  McClintock  ?  I  never 
could  have  believed  it !' 

"  Kecovering  a  little  from  his  astonishment,  the  Englishman 
went  on,  '  Really,  if  you  are  the  Rev.  Dr.  McClintock,  one 
of  the  American  deputation,  you  must  preach  for  us  at  our 
evening  service ;  but  where  is  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Simp- 
son V  '  He  hasn't  arrived  yet,'  said  the  doctor.  '  We  ex- 
pect him  this  afternoon.'  '  Then,  certainly,'  said  the  other, 
'  if  the  bishop  should  reach  here  in  time,  we  shall  wish  him, 
as  the  head  of  the  deputation,  to  preach ;  otherwise,  we 
shall  insist  upon  your  doing  so.'  '  It  will  be  quite  impos- 
sible for  me,'  said  the  doctor,  pointing  to  his  throat,  which, 
by  the  way,  was  so  seriously  affected  that  he  had  not  spoken 
in  public  for  many  months.  '  Oh,  that  can  be  easily  man- 
aged,' said  John  Bull,  totally  misapprehending  his  mean- 
ing ;  '  you  must  certainly  have  a  clerical  suit  in  your  bag- 
gage, and  as  to  the  white  cravat,  I  will  lend  you  a  fresh 
one  with  great  pleasure.'  " 

A  trip  to  Norway  helped  to  fill  up  the  interval  of  time  be- 
tween Bishop  Simpson's  arrival  in  England  and  the  meeting 
of  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference.  In  June,  in  company 
with  Dr.  McClintock,  he  visited  the  Irish  "Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence, where  they  received  "  a  thousand  welcomes  "  as  only 
Irishmen  can  give  them.  They  were  both  near  their  ances- 
tral home,  the  father  of  Dr.  McClintock  having  been  born  a 
few  miles  on  the  one  side  of  Omagh,  in  County  Tyrone,  and 
the  father  of  Bishop  Simpson  a  few  miles  on  the  opposite 
side  of  that  town.  Dr.  McClintock  said  afterwards,  laugh- 
ingly, that  while  in  Ireland  he  had  received  a  certificate  of 
his  nationality.  After  having  preached  on  a  certain  occasion, 
a  venerable  old  minister  to  whom  he  was  introduced  asked 
him  when  he  went  to  America.  The  doctor  replied  that  he 
was  born  there.  "  Dear,  dear,"  responded  the  old  gentle- 
man, "  he  talks  as  well  as  most  any  one  of  us."     In  July 


SPEECH  TO   THE  BRITISH  CONFERENCE.  335 

the  two  delegates  were  presented  to  the  British  Conference. 
We  will  draw  again  from  Mr.  Milburn's  narrative :  "  The 
Conference  sat  with  closed  doors  until  the  day  on  which 
the  bishop  and  the  doctor  were  received,  when  time-hon- 
ored precedent  was  thrown  aside,  the  doors  opened,  and 
an  almost  suffocating  crowd  thronged  every  part  of  the 
building.  The  bishop,  who  was  the  first  to  speak,  could  not 
but  be  conscious,  as  he  looked  over  the  vast  assembly,  that, 
kindly  disposed  as  they  might  be,  there  was  a  barrier  to  his 
success,  for  the  hospitality  of  mind  in  his  hearers  was  tinct- 
ured by  a  slight  distrust  and  undervaluation  of  him  as  an 
American ;  undefined  it  might  be,  but  none  the  less  real  and 
potent. 

"  It  was  a  trying  moment  for  the  great  orator  who  had 
achieved  so  many  triumphs  in  his  native  land,  and  he,  at 
first,  seemed  almost  to  falter,  while  the  doctor  and  I,  who 
sat  near  at  hand,  were  tremulous,  even  feverish,  dreading 
lest  our  champion  might  fail  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  on 
a  great  occasion.  For  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  we  were  kept 
in  most  painful  suspense ;  our  breath  came  hard  and  fast, 
for  the  bishop  was  hampered  and  ill  at  ease,  or  appeared  to 
be  so.  It  may  have  been  his  art,  but  I  think  it  was  genu- 
ine embarrassment.  Just  as  we  were  giving  up  all  for  lost, 
the  speaker  seemed  to  forget  himself  for  a  moment  or  two, 
as  a  happy  illustration  fell  from  his  lips ;  his  face  lighted 
up,  his  eye  flashed,  and  every  eye  in  the  multitude  answered 
him,  and  there  was  a  murmur  of  '  Hear,  hear !'  from  all 
over  the  house.  The  bishop's  legs  were  no  longer  unsteady ; 
he  seemed  to  erect  himself  above  himself ;  his  voice  lost  its 
wavering  inflections  and  uncertainty  of  tone  ;  his  sentences 
flowed  freely,  in  clearer  and  higher  form.  The  speech  be- 
came earnest,  effective,  poetic,  impassioned,  thrilling.  The 
silence  was  at  times  oppressive,  but  relieved  at  the  end 
of  every  paragraph,  sometimes  of  a  few  sentences,  by  deaf- 
ening, overwhelming  shouts  of  '  Hear,  hear !  good,  good !' 
English  reserve  is  proverbial,  and  the  mercurial  stranger 


336  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

from  this  side  of  the  water  is  sure  to  feel  it,  as  a  chill  most 
repressive,  well-nigh  paralyzing.  This  is  true  of  individuals, 
as  well  as  of  great  assemblies ;  but  if  there  be  power  and 
heat  enough  to  melt  the  ice,  when  the  thaw  comes  it  is  ac- 
companied by  a  flood.  As  there  is  no  private  hospitality 
in  the  world  superior,  if  equal,  to  that  of  England  when  one 
has  gained  a  welcome,  so  there  are  scarcely  any  audiences 
on  earth  so  responsive,  demonstrative,  enthusiastic,  as  the 
English  when  they  once  yield  themselves  to  the  spell  of  a 
great  master.  Bishop  Simpson  has  made  many  great  and 
powerful  speeches  in  the  course  of  his  long  and  brilliant 
public  life,  but  I  doubt  if  his  marvellous  strength  and  mag- 
netic sway  over  thousands  of  his  fellow-men  were  ever  more 
signally  displayed  than  in  this  speech  in  Brunswick  Chapel, 
except  upon  one  other  memorable  occasion,  when  he  preached 
before  the  "Wesleyan  Conference,  some  years  later,  at  Burs- 
lem,  when  the  effect  upon  the  congregation  was  indescriba- 
ble, unparalleled  in  this  generation.  As  the  bishop  took  his 
seat  the  dignitaries  upon  the  platform,  the  ministers  upon 
the  floor,  the  laity,  and  the  ladies  were  in  a  tumult  of  ex- 
citement, and  it  was  many  minutes  before  the  thunders  of 
applause  ceased. 

"  It  was  no  easy  task  to  follow  such  a  speech.  It  was  a 
tide  which,  taken  at  the  flood,  would  not  lead  on  an  ordi- 
nary man  to  fortune,  but  to  be  bound  in  shallows  and 
miseries ;  and  as  Dr.  McClintock  arose  I  could  not  but  feel 
the  deepest  solicitude.  My  anxiety  for  him,  however,  was 
soon  relieved.  His  singularly  handsome  person  and  en- 
gaging manner,  noble  head,  beaming  eye,  attractive  face, 
mellow  and  beautiful  voice — for  he  had  regained  the  use 
of  his  throat — enlisted  the  audience  on  the  instant.  The 
rhythmic  flow  of  his  perfect  English ;  the  luminous  state- 
ment of  his  subject  — '  The  State  and  Prospects  of  High- 
er Education  in  the  New  World ;'  his  vivid  and  masterly 
presentation  of  it ;  his  melodious  tones,  rising  to  full  sono- 
rous power,  every  accent,  inflection,  modulation,  controlled 


NO  BEST  IN  ENGLAND.  337 

by  an  almost  infallible  taste,  delighted  the  ear,  while  every 
mental  faculty  was  charmed  and  the  emotions  stirred  by 
the  spells  of  this  most  accomplished  scholar,  orator,  human- 
hearted  man.  There  could  scarcely  be  a  greater  contrast 
than  that  between  these  two  speakers — each  admirable,  al- 
most perfect,  in  his  way.  The  effect  of  the  doctor's  speech 
was  as  satisfying  and  profound  as  that  of  the  bishop  ;  noth- 
ing more  can  be  said.  I  could  have  hugged  both  my  friends 
for  joy,  and  never  on  English  soil  felt  prouder  of  my  coun- 
try and  my  countrymen." 

Even  the  scrupulously  decorous  London  Watchman  (alas, 
poor  ghost !)  was  stirred  to  something  like  enthusiasm,  and 
had  visions  of  a  strengthening,  by  means  of  such  deputations, 
of  the  bonds  of  national  friendship.  It  draws  quite  a  charm- 
ing picture  of  what  might  be  hoped  for  in  the  years  to  come : 

"The  people  of  this  country  and  of  America  are  sensitive,  proud,  and 
occasionally  have,  on  minor  matters,  a  conflicting  policy;  so  that  it  re- 
quires all  the  influences  arising  from  a  common  ancestry,  language,  and 
literature,  and  all  their  real  identity  of  material  interests  to  prevent  occa- 
sional quarrels.  Nay,  they  do  quarrel  and  sometimes  half  draw  the  sword ; 
though  the  reception  given  to  Mr.  Dallas  here,  and  to  Lord  Napier  there, 
shows  how  quickly,  how  gladly,  and  how  thoroughly  they  can  be  recon- 
ciled. It  is  a  great  and  providential  fact,  influencing  the  destinies  of 
both  these  great  peoples  and  of  the  world,  that  among  each  of  them 
every  religious  communion  feels  such  interest  in  one  of  the  same  name 
existing  in  the  midst  of  the  other,  that  a  war  would  seem  to  entire  Chris- 
tian fellowships,  which  count  their  communicants  by  the  hundred  thou- 
sand, the  most  awful  and  Cain-like  of  crimes.  In  no  denominations  is 
this  feeling  stronger  than  in  the  youngest  —  the  two  communions  of 
Methodism ;  that  in  England  being  the  youngest  here,  yet  second  in 
number  only  to  the  Established  Church  ;  that  in  America  being  the 
youngest  there,  the  daughter,  in  fact,  of  British  Methodism,  but  far  more 
prolific  than  her  mother,  and  with  a  larger  family  of  spiritual  children 
than  any  other  Church  in  the  United  States.  A  deputation  every  four 
years  from  each  to  the  other  of  these  great  communions  must  assist  in 
perpetuating  and  vivifying  the  feeling  of  kinship  between  the  two  coun- 
tries." 

Bishop  Simpson  found  that  there  was  no  more  rest  for 

22 


338  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

hhn  away  from  home  than  at  home.  lie  writes  from  Ire- 
land to  his  wife :  "  I  have  but  little  hopes  of  hearing  from 
home  for  another  week  at  least.  I  leave  for  the  Lakes  of 
Killarney  this  evening ;  Thursday  evening  I  speak  at  Lim- 
erick, and  next  Sunday  I  have  two  appointments  in  Dub- 
lin ;  Monday  evening  I  speak  in  Belfast,  and  then  visit  the 
Giant's  Causeway,  Coleraine,  Londonderry,  etc.  The  latter 
part  of  the  week  I  cross  over  to  Scotland.  When  shall  I 
have  rest  ?  But  I  will  not  ask  it.  If  prepared  for  the  union 
of  the  blessed  on  high,  there  will  be  time  enough  to  rest  in 
heaven.  And  if  not  prepared  there  will  never  be  rest — no, 
never.  In  my  visions  of  the  day,  as  I  wander  over  hill  and 
dale,  as  I  gaze  on  silver  streams,  clear  lakes,  wild  mountains, 
beautiful  edifices,  or  old  ruins,  how  often  I  feel  that  my  de- 
light would  be  almost  perfect  could  I  have  you  to  enjoy 
those  scenes  with  me.  And  when  I  sit,  as  I  now  do,  by  a 
window  overlooking  the  city,  and  hear  the  noise  of  wheels 
in  the  street  and  the  busy  tread  of  feet  in  adjoining  rooms, 
I  almost  involuntarily  look  around  to  catch  a  smile  from 
you." 

Strange  to  say  he  barely  mentions  in  his  letters  to  his 
wife  his  extraordinanr  oratorical  triumphs.  The  only  no- 
tice of  them  from  himself  that  I  have  found  is  a  brief  pas- 
sage in  a  letter  from  Paris :  "  You  will  see  by  the  Watchman 
I  sent  you  how  matters  went  off  in  England.  I  suppose  I 
ought  not  to  desire  more  favor  than  I  received  in  expres- 
sions of  kindness  and  satisfaction.  But  all  these  things  are 
empty,  and  so  full  am  I  of  conscious  imperfections  that  I 
only  wonder  why  my  efforts  are  so  well  received.  At  my 
last  sermon,  though  it  rained  hard,  every  foot  of  standing- 
room  in  every  part  of  the  house  was  packed,  and  hundreds 
were  unable  to  gain  admittance." 

When  the  autumn  of  1857  drew  near,  and  it  was  time  to 
think  of  returning  home,  the  life-long  wish  of  Bishop  Simp- 
son to  visit  the  East  began  to  shape  itself  into  a  purpose. 
He  writes  thus  to  his  wife,  towards  the  close  of  July  : 


EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE  AT  BERLIN  339 

"  I  shall  finish  my  official  work  about  the  20th  or  25th  of 
September,  and  I  could  be  home  in  October.  But  if  life, 
health,  and  circumstances  should  permit,  I  would  be  pleased 
to  visit  the  East.  Yet  it  seems  so  long  to  be  away  from 
you.  This  morning  I  awoke  from  a  dream  that  I  was  at 
home,  and  you  were  sitting  near  me,  and  you  looked  up  and 
smiled,  and  I  awoke,  and  it  was  all  a  dream.  Time  seems 
long.  If  ever  I  get  home  again  it  seems  to  me  I  would  wish 
never  to  leave  it,  but  with  you  to  pass  in  domestic  quiet,  if 
I  could,  the  rest  of  my  days." 

First,  however,  he  must  attend  the  "World's  Conference 
of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  which  was  to  open  in  Septem- 
ber, at  Berlm.  This  meeting  of  the  Alliance  was  memora- 
ble for  many  reasons  :  first,  for  the  interest  taken  in  its  pro- 
ceedings by  the  King  of  Prussia,  who,  besides  being  present 
at  its  sessions,  entertained  the  Alliance  at  his  palace  in 
Potsdam ;  memorable  also  for  the  service  rendered  to  the 
Americans  in  attendance  by  Governor  Joseph  A.  "Wright, 
at  that  time  our  Minister  to  Germany.  Governor  Wright 
was  not  a  mere  looker-on,  but  rather  an  energetic  promoter 
of  the  purposes  of  the  Alliance  and  a  frequent  speaker  at 
its  meetings.  The  Conference  was  memorable,  too,  for  its 
vindication  of  Methodism  before  assembled  Christian  Ger- 
many, by  Doctor  "William  JNTast ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  for 
the  eloquent  plea  for  Christian  unity  made  by  Bishop 
Simpson,  in  the  Garnison  Kirche  of  Berlin.  We  shall 
make  up  our  narrative  from  the  letters  of  Doctors  McClin- 
tock  and  W.  F.  Warren,  who  were  present,  and  who  say  more 
of  the  bishop  than  his  modesty  would  ever  have  permitted 
him  to  say  of  himself. 

The  Conference  was  opened  by  an  address  of  welcome 
from  the  court  preacher,  Krummacher ;  the  replies  to  this 
in  behalf  of  the  Americans  were  made  by  Governor  Wright 
and  Bishop  Simpson.  "  Krummachers  address  of  wel- 
come," writes  Doctor  McClintock,  "  was  exceedingly  well- 
conceived;  he  embraced  every  nationality  and  almost  every 


340  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Church,  hitting  off  the  characteristic  features  of  each  in  a 
few  compact  and  pregnant  sentences.  Speaking  of  Method- 
ism, he  said :  '  It  is  the  angel  flying  through  the  midst  of 
heaven,  summoning  the  dead  churches  to  a  new  Christian 
life.'  Much  of  his  address  was  taken  up  with  refutations 
of  the  objections  that  have  been  made  here  to  the  meeting 
of  the  Alliance  in  Berlin.  '  They  say  that  this  gathering  of 
Christians  will  be  a  flood  of  waters  desolating  Germany. 
Kay,  rather,  it  will  be  the  Nile  flood,  which  covers  the 
banks,  indeed,  and  only  recedes  to  leave  behind  it  the  seeds 
of  richness  and  fertility.'  Altogether,  in  matter,  manner, 
and  spirit,  this  speech  of  Krummacher's  was  a  most  mas- 
terly and  appropriate  one. 

"  Governor  "Wright,  American  Embassador  to  Berlin,  spoke 
first  in  reply ;  and  no  speech,  in  the  whole  course  of  the 
meeting,  has  been  more  apt  and  telling  than  this  brief  ad- 
dress, which  was  delivered  with  great  force  and  earnestness 
of  voice  and  manner.  The  vast  audience  was  fairly  taken 
by  surprise.  It  was  a  great  gratification,  too,  to  Christians 
of  all  lands,  to  see  a  man  occupying  so  high  a  public  posi- 
tion identifying  himself  with  this  movement  of  Christian 
brotherhood. 

"  Bishop  Simpson  followed  Governor  Wright.  His  re- 
marks were,  in  substance  :  He,  too,  as  an  American,  was 
glad  to  respond  to  the  cordial  welcome  that  had  been  given 
to  Christians  of  all  lands  and  of  all  churches,  and  to  offer 
to  the  assembly  the  greetings  of  Americans  and  of  Ameri- 
can Methodists.  "While  he  was  listening  this  morning  to 
the  manly  voice  of  Dr.  Krummacher,  it  seemed  easy  to 
fancy  that  Luther  had  again  appeared  to  rally  the  Chris- 
tians of  his  native  land.  So  far  as  he  understood  the  views 
and  feelings  of  the  great  body  of  American  Christians,  they 
sympathized  with  the  objects  of  the  Conference  as  a  union, 
not  of  creeds,  nor  of  organizations,  but  of  heart  and  Chris- 
tian activity.  Types  of  this  union  lay  all  around  us  in  nat- 
ure.    The  little  streams,  rising  among  the  hills — some  flow- 


THE  ALLIANCE  VISITS  TIIE  KING.  341 

ing  faster,  some  slower — might,  indeed,  singly,  quench  the 
thirst  of  the  passing  traveller,  but  only  by  union  could  they 
bear  the  treasures  of  commerce,  and  so  bring  the  ends  of  the 
earth  together.  As  in  Germany,  so  also  in  the  United  States, 
the  independence  of  the  several  sovereignties  secured  free- 
dom of  thought  and  action,  while  the  confederation  gave 
strength  and  power  to  the  whole ;  and  it  was  so  with  the 
Church :  singly,  the  churches  did  great  good,  but  when 
united  in  heart  and  activity,  they  offered  a  sublime  specta- 
cle to  the  world.  lie  believed  that  it  was  the  desire  of 
American  Christians  that  all  Christians,  in  all  the  earth, 
should  be  one  in  Christ  Jesus." 

The  Episcopal  Methodist  Church  of  America,  was,  in  1857, 
a  novel  name  to  German  ears ;  and  the  announcement  to 
the  Alliance  of  one  of  its  bishops  as  a  speaker,  Dr.  Warren 
tells  us,  created  a  genuine  feeling  of  surprise. 

"  After  Governor  Wright's  address,"  says  Dr.  Warren, 
"  was  heard  the  announcement  of  '  the  Rev.  Dr.  Simpson, 
Bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Methodist  Church  of  America.' 

" '  Who  is  that  V  said  a  German  gentleman  near  me. 

" '  Bishop  Simpson,  of  the  Bischoflichen  Methodisten 
Kirche  of  America.* 

"'Bischoflichen  Methodisten  Kirche?'  repeated  he,  dubi- 
ously ;  '  Episcopal  Methodist !  why,  that  is  a  contradiction 
in  terms !  What  do  you  mean  V  and  he  turned  for  enlight- 
enment to  another.     How  he  succeeded,  I  do  not  know." 

At  Potsdam,  whither  the  members  of  the  Alliance  went 
upon  the  invitation  of  the  king,  they  found  royal  hospital- 
ity. We  draw  again  from  Doctor  Warren's  lively  report: 
"  At  three  o'clock  we  betook  ourselves  to  the  Potsdam  depot, 
white-cravatted  and  white-kidded,  according  to  the  irre- 
fragable postulates  of  court  etiquette,  whence  two  extra 
trains  conveyed  us  gratis  to  the  '  Prussian  Versailles.'  As 
I  was  whirled  along  the  familiar  way,  I  could  but  smile  to 
think  how  little  I  expected,  when  I  came  to  Europe  a  year  and 
a  half  ago,  to  ever  ride  around  the  country  at  the  King  of 


342  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Prussia's  expense,  and  how  little  I  thought,  the  last  time  I 
had  seen  the  new  palace,  of  ever  being  entertained  therein 
by  the  same  august  personage. 

"  We  found  our  American  representation  amounted  to 
no  less  than  thirty -two,  among  whom  were  Governor 
Wright,  Bishop  Simpson,  Doctors  Baird,  McClintock,  Pat- 
ton,  Dwight,  missionary  at  Constantinople,  King,  of  Ath- 
ens, and  others  almost  equally  worthy  of  mention.  Gov- 
ernor Wright  was  unanimously  chosen  to  present  us.  At 
length,  after  an  enormous  amount  of  consultation  and 
anxious  amendments  of  different  parts  of  the  arrangements, 
during  which  the  chief  of  the  English  tribe  approached 
ours,  and  respectfully  begged  to  suggest  whether,  instead 
of  boisterous  hurrahing,  it  would  not  be  better  to  adopt 
the  resolution  which  the  Englishmen  had  taken  of  shout- 
ing '  God  save  the  king !'  it  was  heralded,  '  Behold,  the 
king  cometh !'  Surrounded  by  his  ministers,  he  descended 
the  steps  of  the  palace,  amid  the  '  hurrahs '  of  all  the  '  na- 
tionalities,' and  was  met  by  Pastor  Kuntze,  who  presented 
to  him  the  committee  in  a  very  pretty  speech,  reminding 
his  majesty  that,  though  he  had  reviewed  many  an  im- 
posing army,  the  one  now  before  him  was  unlike  any  of 
them ;  their  weapons  were  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  etc.,  etc. 

"  His  majesty,  with  uncovered  head,  listened,  and  then 
replied  that  he  was  too  much  affected  by  the  peculiar  and 
moving  circumstances  of  the  occasion  to  be  able  to  find 
words  to  express  himself  (rather  an  old  formula  of  his,  by 
the  way),  but  he  was  rejoiced  to  see  his  visitors,  to  bid 
them  most  heartily  welcome.  Advancing  then  towards  the 
Americans,  and  seeing  Governor  Wright,  he  hastened  for- 
ward, shook  his  hand  most  cordially,  and  expressed  his  live- 
ly pleasure  at  finding  him  there.  After  a  little  conversation 
the  governor  proceeded  to  present  his  countrymen.  The 
king  expressed  great  satisfaction  in  seeing  his  old  friend 
Doctor  Baird,  held  Dr.  Dwight's  hand  a  long  time,  inquiring 
about  his  missionary  success,  did  not  forget  to  greet  the  na- 


PREACHING  IN  BERLIN.  343 

tive  Armenian  preacher  who  was  in  his  company,  begged 
to  know  of  Bishop  Simpson  the  name  of  his  see  (!),  in  a 
word,  '  did  the  polite  and  handsome  '  by  us  all ;  so  much  so 
that  he  excited  the  jealousy  of  more  than  one  '  nationality,' 
among  the  rest  his  own. 

"  Gliding  around  in  the  crowd  at  the  station,  while  waiting 
for  the  train  back  to  Berlin,  I  tried  to  gather  up  the  various 
impressions  which  might  be  prevailing.  All  seemed  to  think 
the  king's  conduct  worthy  of  the  highest  praise ;  they  laud- 
ed his  hospitality,  condescension,  etc.  '  But,'  said  one  old 
German,  setting  down  his  great  beer-pot  with  emphasis, 
'  how  came  his  majesty  to  show  such  particular  regard  to 
those  Americans?  I  really  became  quite  jealous  of  them. 
He  showed  to  them  more  attention  than  to  his  own  people.' 
'  The  king  ye  always  have  with  you,'  replied  a  gentleman 
near  by,  who  had  heard  the  remark  ;  and,  looking  up,  I  saw 
my  humorous  friend,  Mr.  E.,  from  my  own  state.  '  That  is 
true,'  returned  the  German,  in  a  tone  which  made  it  sound 
very  much  like  '  too  true.'  " 

While  in  Berlin  Bishop  Simpson  preached  in  the  Garnison 
Kirche,  which  was  under  the  direct  control  of  the  king. 
We  gather  from  the  reports  that  there  was  some — not  loud- 
ly expressed — opposition  to  the  occupancy  of  this  pulpit  b}^ 
a  representative  of  "  a  sect,"  as  the  phrase  runs  among  those 
who  ought  to  know  better.  If  there  was  opposition,  it  was 
gently  put  aside. 

"  It  was  the  first  time,"  writes  Doctor  McClintock,  "  that 
an  established  church  in  Prussia  had  been  opened  for  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  by  an  Evangelical  minister  of  the 
English  or  American  churches,  and  now  it  was  opened  for 
a  Methodist  bishop.  I  was  surprised  to  find  a  good  audi- 
ence in  attendance,  notwithstanding  that  other  services  in 
English  were  going  on  at  the  same  time.  The  reputation 
of  the  bishop,  doubtless,  drew  many  Church-of-England 
people  from  their  own  chapel,  and  the  rest  of  the  audience 
was   made   up   of    Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  and 


344  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Methodists.  The  service  was  opened  by  the  reading  of  a 
hymn  and  prayer  by  Doctor  Patton,  of  New  York.  The 
Scripture  lessons  were  read  by  Doctor  D wight,  of  Constan- 
tinople. The  bishop's  text  was  John  xvii.  22,  and  the  ser- 
mon was  admirably  adapted  to  the  occasion  and  the  audi- 
ence. He  showed,  first,  that  Christian  unity  was  possible, 
from  the  prayer  of  Christ ;  secondly,  that  it  was  desirable  ; 
and  thirdly,  that  it  was  essential  to  the  world's  conversion. 
These  were  the  subdivisions  of  the  first  head  ;  the  second 
was  occupied  in  showing  that  true  Christian  union  consists 
not  in  unity  of  belief,  for  this  is  not  possible  as  long  as 
minds  and  nations  differ  so  widely ;  not  in  uniformity  of 
worship,  which  is  equally  impracticable,  even  if  desirable  ; 
but  in  union  of  fellowship  with  Christ,  and  of  Christian  ac- 
tivities and  labors  for  the  advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
The  sermon  was  masterly,  both  in  the  structure  and  the  fill- 
ing up,  and  the  lucid  neatness  of  its  statement  and  exposi- 
tion was  only  surpassed  by  the  pathos  and  tenderness  of  its 
exhortation  to  Christian  unity  and  fidelity.  Many  an  eye 
was  dimmed  with  tears,  and  many  a  heart  formed  new  reso- 
lutions for  the  service  of  God  under  that  sermon. 

"  An  Englishman,  who  had  listened  to  the  bishop,  said  to 
me,  '  Ah,  sir,  that  was  preaching ;  what  a  backbone  of  hard, 
stout  thinking  was  behind  all  that  tenderness  and  unction !' 
I  don't  see  that  a  sermon  could  well  get  higher  praise  than 
this." 


XVI. 

JOURNEY  TO  THE  EAST.— ILLNESS  AND 
RECOVERY  OF  HEALTH. 

1857-1S60. 


On  the  Way  to  the  Holy  Land. — His  Travelling  Companions. — At  Con- 
stantinople.— Taken  Sick  on  the  Voyage  to  Smyrna. — "  Twenty  Years 
Ago.  " — Slow  Recovery. — The  Traveller's  Enthusiasm. — Last  Look  at 
Palestine,  and  Homeward. — Alexandria,  Cairo,  and  the  Pyramids. — 
Prostrated  again  at  Naples.  —  Reaches  Marseilles,  Paris,  and  Lon- 
don.— At  Home,  and  at  Work  again. — Removal  from  Pittsburgh  to 
Evanston,  Illinois. — Reaches  his  Fiftieth  Year. — Growing  Old. — The 
Troubles  in  the  Church. — The  Nation  and  the  Church  in  Sympathy 
with  Each  Other. — The  Aggressions  of  the  Slave  Power  in  the  State. — 
Aroused  Anti-slavery  Feeling  in  the  Church. — The  New  Chapter  on 
Slavery. — Unrest  of  the  Border  Conferences. —  The  Methodist  Estab- 
lished.— The  Last  Struggle  between  Freedom  and  Slavery  Coming  on. 


EASTWARD   OR   WESTWARD,  WHICH?  347 


XVI. 

It  had  long  been  a  question  with  Bishop  Simpson  whether 
he  would  ever  be  able  to  visit  the  lands  of  Bible  story.  He 
had  hoped  and  waited,  and  now  that  he  was  in  the  heart  of 
Europe,  should  he  turn  eastward  or  westward  %  The  jour- 
ney to  the  Holy  Land  was  a  more  formidable  undertaking 
thirty  years  ago  than  it  is  now.  Steam  conveyance  was  to 
be  had,  but  the  conveniences  of  travel  were  fewer  and  the 
fatigues  greater.  Palestine  was  not  then  as  well  known  to 
us,  in  its  every-day  life,  as  it  is  to  us  of  the  present  time,  and 
active  imaginations  could  make  lively  pictures  of  the  per- 
ils from  wandering  Bedouins  and  conscienceless  Turks.  It 
cost  the  bishop,  however,  an  effort  to  decide  upon  an  east- 
ward course,  for  he  was  homesick.  He  thus  writes  to  his 
wife  from  Dresden,  September  25,  1857 : 

"  You  will  see  by  the  address  of  this  letter,  that  I  aui  on  my  way  South 
and  East.  And  yet  the  weather  is  becoming  very  cool ;  where  I  now  am 
it  is  almost  like  November.  This  I  presume  is  but  temporary.  Since  I 
wrote  you  from  Berlin,  I  have  been  visiting  the  spots  made  interesting  by 
the  labors  of  Luther  and  Melanchthon.  I  have  seen  the  house  in  which 
Luther  was  born,  and  the  house  in  which  lie  died.  I  have  seen  the  table 
at  which  he  wrote,  the  gown  which  lie  wore,  and  the  beads  which  he 
counted  while  yet  a  monk,  the  room  in  which  he  first  studied  the  Bible, 
the  castle  in  which  he  was  lodged-  for  safety,  and  the  wall  at  which  he 
threw  the  inkstand  {o  hit  his  Satanic  majesty.  I  have  also  been  at 
Hernhutt  to  see  the  Moravian  colony  which  Mr.  Wesley  visited,  and 
from  which  he  drew  some  practical  plans.  I  have  returned  from  it  this 
afternoon.  Battle-fields,  too,  I  have  seen,  and  palaces,  and  paintings, 
and  ornaments,  almost  without  number.  But  how  much  more  would  I 
give  to  see  your  bright  eyes  and  cheerful  face;  to  tell  you  all  about  my 
journeyings,  and  to  have  one  hour's  real  romp  with  the  children.     If  it 


348  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

pleases  God  to  grant  me  a  safe  return,  and  to  spare  to  us  all  the  children, 
I  hope  to  have  a  delightful  home  again.  How  sweet  is  that  word 
'home;'  what  recollections,  what  associations  cluster  around  it !  In  the 
graveyard  of  t lie  Moravians,  which  I  visited  to-day,  instead  of  the  inser- 
tion '  Dead,'  were  the  words  '  Gone  home '  such  a  day.  It  was  quite 
touching.  'A  home  in  heaven.'  How  sweet  to  think,  to  know,  there  is  a 
world  of  bliss  with  a  home  in  it,  a  quiet  resting-place  for  the  soul  when 
life's  journey  is  over." 

His  travelling  companions  to  the  East  were  the  Rev.  Dr. 
W.  F.  "Warren,  now  President  of  Boston  University,  a  son 
of  Governor  Wright,  our  Minister  to  Berlin  at  that  time, 
and  a  Lutheran  minister  from  Pennsylvania.  His  letters 
written  on  the  way  are  full  of  the  tenderness  which  marks 
all  his  home  correspondence.     We  select  a  few  of  them  : 

"Dresden,  Sept.  25. 
'•  One  more  letter,  Providence  permitting,  you  may  expect  from  me 
next  week,  written  at  Vienna  just  before  parting  from  the  regions  of  rail- 
roads and  of  regular  communication.  After  that  you  must  not  look  for 
anything  for  two  weeks  at  least,  and  probably  for  three  weeks,  as  I  shall 
be  getting  farther  away,  and  the  communications  will  be  much  more  dif- 
ficult. But  be  of  good  heart;  two  or  three  months  more  will  take  me  to 
the  farthest  point,  and  then  I  shall  turn  homewards.  How  do  you  like 
my  letters  in  the  Advocate  of  late  ?  It  is  at  least  a  consolation,  if  I  can- 
not get  time  to  write,  they  cannot  criticise.  I  see  so  much  that  I  really 
do  not  know  where  to  begin  writing.  I  have  despaired  of  making  any 
readable  letters.     But  possibly  I  may  try  my  pen  again." 

"  Constantinople,  Oct.  16, 1857. 
"After  a  tedious  voyage  on  the  Danube,  we  reached  the  Black  Sea  on 
Saturday  last.  But,  as  a  severe  storm  was  jn-evailing,  our  ship  did  not 
venture  out.  We  lay  at  Sulina  until  Monday,  and  arrived  in  this  city  on 
Tuesday  evening.  I  have  been  busily  engaged  since,  almost  night  and 
clay.  Our  missionaries,  Long  and  Prettyman,  with  their  families,  are 
here,  and  in  consultation  with  them  as  to  our  mission,  in  reading  what  I 
can  to  aid  in  determining  their  course,  and  in  consultation  with  the 
American  Board,  my  evenings  have  all  been  spent,  and  two  days  have 
been  fully  occupied  in  sight-seeing.  Yesterday  I  was  at  the  Seraglio 
(the  old  one)  and  the  Church  of  St.  Sophia,  now  a  mosque.  The  Greek 
and  Armenian  women  look  like  our  own.  The  Turkish  are  veiled  in  a 
kind  of  way,  but,  witli  two  or  three  exceptions,  all  I  have  seen  are  pale, 
feeble,  and  cadaverous." 


"  TWENTY  YEARS  AGO."  349 

"Steamer  Germania,  between  Constantinople  and  Smyrna,  Oct.  21,  1857. 
"  How  I  wish  you  could  just  peep  into  the  cabin  of  the  ship,  and  see 
me  as  I  sit  writing  at  the  table.  I  think  you  would  know  me,  a  tight 
match,  too,  for  I  have  a  low,  soft,  white  hat,  which  I  wear  tied  by  a  ribbon 
to  my  button-hole  to  keep  it  from  being  blown  away,  and  then  my  lono- 
beard  ;  yes,  my  beard.  It  is  as  white  as  a  patriarch's  of  seventy  years  upon 
my  chin,  brown  upon  my  cheeks  and  whiskers,  and  strongly  threatening 
to  be  sandy  on  my  upper  lip ;  that  is  about  as  many  colors  as  the  rainbow. 
What  would  you  say  to  that  ?  Now  don't  curl  that  lip  of  yours,  nor  even 
draw  down  your  eyebrows,  nor  let  your  eyes  flash  too  brightly  with  vir- 
tuous indignation,  because,  if  ever  permitted  to  see  home,  I  expect  to 
find  a  barber  before  I  reach  civilized  land  again.  I  have  a  notion,  how- 
ever, to  get  my  daguerreotype  taken  just  before,  to  preserve  for  you  as 
an  Oriental  antiquity." 

"  October  21,  1857. 
"  The  American  missionaries  here  treated  me  very  courteously,  and 
I  had  several  pleasant  interviews  during  my  stay  in  Constantinople. 
Brothers  Long  and  Prettyman  left  to  seek  a  home  in  Bulgaria  just  be- 
fore our  vessel  sailed.  Sabbath  I  preached  to  a  fair  congregation,  aud 
on  Monday  aided  in  an  Alliance  meeting.  I  suppose  these  will  be  my 
last  public  services  until  I  reach  England  again,  if  a  kind  Providence 
permits  me  to  return  thither.  You  think  I  am  now  far  away,  and  so  I 
feel  that  I  am,  yet  three  weeks  more  will  pass,  possibly  four,  before  I 
reach  the  Holy  Land,  the  great  object  of  my  journey.  When  I  reach 
that  I  shall  then  get  no  farther  aw^ay,  and  in  a  short  time  will  begin  to 
turn  my  face  a  little  homewards.  But  I  must  be  cautious  how  I  begin 
to  say  '  home,'  lest  I  become  too  impatient  to  return." 

"  Beyrout,  Nov.  3, 1857. 

"  Twenty  years  ago  this  evening— yes,  this  very  evening.  Do  you  re- 
member the  little  group  which  met  in  that  parlor  in  Penn  Street,  and  do 
you  remember  the  neat  young  woman,  with  the  blush  of  health  upon  her 
cheek,  who  stood  trembling  beside  a  tall,  awkward-looking  young  man, 
and  there  and  then,  before  God's  minister,  those  solemn  vows — irrevoca- 
ble—were said  ?  Yes,  how  long  then  to  look  forward,  how  short  now  to 
look  back;  an  eternity  past,  an  eternity  to  come,  how  different.  And 
where  is  the  little  group  now  ?  Father,  mother,  and  a  youthful  sister 
have,  I  trust,  found  a  fulness  of  joy  in  the  presence  of  God. 

"Then  there  are  Mr.  and  Mrs. ,  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  Mrs. , 

gone  too— gone  well,  too,  doubtless.  Such  is  life.  And  now  here  in 
Beyrout  sits  the  same  lank  man,  not  now  young,  and  sends  across  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  Atlantic  the  greetings  of  unchanged,  undying 


350  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

affection  to  the  same  woman,  not  now  quite  so  roseate,  but  more  thought- 
ful, and  even  more  worthy  to  he  beloved,  who  dwells  still  in  the  same 
city  and  in  the  same  street,  How  strange  to  whisper  affection  from  Asia 
to  America,  though  Europe  is  right  in  the  way.  Need  I  say  I  would  like 
to  see  you  '.  Vain  would  be  the  wish,  and  yet  I  have  had  many  strong 
reasons  why  I  would  have  been  glad  to  see  you  in  the  last  few  days.  And 
yet  I  did  not  wish  you  here.  On  parts  of  my  trip  I  have  said,  and  said, 
and  said  again  and  again, '  Oh,  if  I  had  Ellen  here  how  she  would  enjoy  it.' 
But  I  have  not  felt  so  for  several  weeks,  as  there  are  few  conveniences 
and  comforts  to  be  obtained. 

'•I  have  been  sick,  very  sick,  not,  I  suppose,  in  any  immediate  danger, 
but  I  have  suffered  extremely.  I  had  some  pain  at  Constantinople,  but  I 
thought  it  would  pass  away,  some  unpleasant  symptoms  at  Smyrna,  which 
warned  me  to  be  careful,  but  on  the  way  from  Smyrna  to  this  place,  by 
steamer,  I  was  again  seized  with  pain.  The  day  before  I  arrived  here,  and 
especially  the  last  night,  was  one  of  excruciating  agony.  It  seemed  as  if 
my  strength  was  almost  gone.  On  reaching  the  port,  Mr.  "Wright  hur- 
ried on  shore  for  a  physician,  by  whose  aid  I  came  to  the  hotel,  where, 
by  anodynes,  twenty  leeches,  mustard  plasters,  blisters,  and  poultices,  etc., 
the  disease  was  subdued.  I  think  that  never  in  my  life  have  I  felt  more 
grateful  for  returning  health.  To-day  I  have  sat  up  several  hours,  for  the 
first  time,  and  my  first  moments  of  holding  a  pen  for  nearly  a  week  are 
consecrated  to  you.  I  cannot  tell  you  what  has  been  my  trouble.  I 
feared  fever,  but  I  had  very  little.  It  is  enough  for  me  to  know  that, 
through  the  mercy  of  God,  I  have  now  good-  prospects  of  recovery  iu  a 
few  days.  Praised  be  his  holy  name !  How  differently  matters  turn  out 
from  our  calculations!  Under  any  common  circumstances  I  should  al- 
most have  leajDed  for  joy  to  see  the  bold  front  of  Mt.  Lebanon,  the  very 
Lebanon  where  Solomon  got  the  timber  for  the  temple.  Yet  here  rises 
that  old  ridge,  and  I  have  never  yet  seen  it,  except  one  glance  I  gave  it  as  I 
was  rowing  ashore,  and  then  my  eyes  fell,  heavy  with  pain.  To-morrow 
I  hope  to  get  out  of  doors.  The  young  men  started  this  morning  for 
Damascus,  and  that  part  of  the  trip  I  shall  be  compelled  to  lose,  as  I  can- 
not detain  them  longer.  They  expect  to  return  in  about  eight  days,  aud 
then  it  is  supposed  that  I  can  join  them. 

"They  were  very  kind  and  attentive  as  to  sitting  up,  etc.,  but,  unfor- 
tunately, none  of  them  knew  anything  practically  of  nursing  a  sick  per- 
son. Still  I  have  had  every  attention  I  needed.  My  landlady,  a  nice, 
sprightly  Greek  woman,  came  into  my  room  the  third  day,  and  put  it  in 
order,  and  right  glad  I  was  to  see  her.  She  has  since  been  cpiite  atten- 
tive. But  the  misfortune  is  she  talks  only  Greek  and  Italian,  neither 
of  which  I  can  use.     By  a  few  stray  words  of  French,  however,  we  can 


SICK  IN  BET  ROUT.  351 

make  out  to  understand  each  other  a  little.    The  landlord,  a  Greek,  talks  a 

little  English." 

"Nov.  4,  Wednesday. 

"  Last  night  I  had  the  best  rest  I  have  had  for  a  week.  This  morning 
I  have  had  a  cup  of  tea  and  some  arrow-root,  but  not  such  arrow-root  as 
you  make.  And  now  I  am  up  again.  It  is  raining,  however,  and  I  can- 
not go  out.  I  will  add  a  few  lines  each  day  until  the  mail  goes,  which,  I 
learn,  is  on  Saturday. 

"  Nov.  5.— Last  evening  I  was  uot  quite  so  well,  but  to-day  I  have  sat 
up  since  nine  o'clock,  and  this  afternoon  walked  out  about  half  an  hour. 
Mrs.  Ford,  the  wife  of  a  missionary  here,  sent  me  some  jelly  to-day,  very 
good.     I  think  I  shall  go  to  see  her  to-morrow.     May  I  ?" 

"Nov.  6.— Still  on  the  'dauncey'  list;  you  know  when  I  get  a  little 
down  I  am  long  getting  up;  still  there  is  nothing  dangerous.  I  sit  up, 
and  yesterday  I  read  a  good  deal.  I  shall  have,  I  fear,  to  quit  reading 
and  writing,  and  let  my  mind  be  entirely  free.  I  don't  think  Mrs.  F.'s 
jelly  did  me  any  good.     Are  you  glad  ?" 

"  Nov.  7. — Mail  goes  to-day,  they  say.  Better  this  morning.  I  rode 
out  a  short  distance  yesterday,  and  bore  it  very  well.  I  cannot  tell  when 
I  can  write  you  again.  If  I  am  detained  here,  will  write  you  next  week. 
But  if  I  leave  this,  as  I  hope  to,  I  shall  have  no  chance  for  at  least  two 
or  three  weeks.  Write  me  at  Rome,  care  of  the  American  Minister,  and 
now,  one  kiss  and  then  farewell." 

Dr.  Warren,  who,  as  already  stated,  was  one  of  the  bish- 
op's party,  has  sent  me  some  reminiscences,  especially  of  the 
bishop's  enthusiasm  and  of  the  severity  of  his  illness  : 

"  In  our  passage  down  the  J^gean  the  bishop  was  at  his 
best.  The  sight  of  the  Trojan  shore,  of  Scio's  rocky  isle, 
and,  more  than  all,  of  Patmos,  stirred  his  soul.  He  could 
hardly  leave  the  deck  for  food  or  sleep.  Great  was  his 
gusto  as  he  told  me  of  the  blunder  of  a  Scotch  professor 
who  had  ventured  a  Latin  question  to  a  Greek  priest  on 
board,  and  mistook  his  '  I  do  not  know ' — Nescio — for  the 
name  of  an  island. 

"  On  the  passage  from  Crete  to  Beyrout  he  became  serious- 
ly sick,  so  that  when  we  landed  we  had  to  carry  him  for  the 
most  part,  though,  to  avoid  creating  a  panic,  he  was  dressed 
and  was  supported  in  an  upright  position,  with  his  arms  ex- 
tended over  the  shoulders  of  a  courier  on  each  side.     For- 


352  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

tunately  we  found  good  friends  in  the  American  Board  mis- 
sion, and  a  skilful  physician  in  the  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Dyke.  *  For 
some  days  the  symptoms  were  very  alarming,  but  at  last 
he  began  to  mend.  Then  he  insisted  that  the  rest  of  our 
party  should  improve  the  time  by  making  the  tour  of  the 
Lebanon  and  Damascus,  returning  thereafter  for  him.  This 
was  done,  but  when  we  returned  he  was  by  no  means  fit  for 
travel  on  horseback,  though  he  insisted  that  he  would 
improve  by  this  means.  Of  the  kindness  which  the 
bishop  experienced  in  the  mission-house  he  could  never  say 
enough. 

"  "We  went  down  the  coast  to  Sidon,  where  we  spent  a 
Sunday  in  rest.  Here  he  was  too  weak  and  ill  to  ride  far- 
ther, and  we  (he  and  I)  engaged  boatmen  to  row  us  to  Haifa. 
Thence  we  went  to  Nazareth,  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  ascended 
Mount  Tabor ;  thence  proceeded  down  to  Jerusalem,  Dead 
Sea,  Hebron,  Bethlehem,  Jaffa,  etc.,  etc.  Thence  to  Alexan- 
dria, Cairo,  the  Pyramids,  etc.  From  Alexandria  to  Corfu ; 
thence  through  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  to  Salamis  and 
Athens ;  thence  to  Marathon  and  a  few  other  points ; 
thence  to  Naples ;  thence  to  Civita  Vecchia,  where  we 
parted,  he  to  return  home  as  fast  as  steam  could  take 
him,  I  to  visit  Rome  and  what  remained  of  Italy. 

"During  all  this  time  the  bishop  was  wholly  unfit  for 
travel,  especially  in  so  rude  a  country  and  with  food  so 
wretchedly  unpalatable.  Not  one  day  was  he  well.  The 
physicians  consulted  at  different  points  did  not  agree  in 
their  diagnoses  of  the  difficulty,  but  I  think  there  is  little 
doubt  that  a  malarial  fever  was  originally  at  the  bottom  of 
the  trouble.  I  presume  it  was  contracted  on  the  Lower 
Danube.  Twice  he  despaired  of  living  till  the  morning, 
and  began  to  give  me  his  farewell  messages  to  his  family 
and  friends.  Once  was  in  Athens,  the  other  time  in  the 
Holy  Land.  Nothing  but  a  marvellous  constitution  and 
a  mighty  faith  in  God  ever  carried  him  through  such  a 
strain. 


CALMNESS  UNDER  SEVERE  TRIAL.  353 

"  Often  be  considered  the  question  of  our  immediate  re- 
turn home,  but  whenever  well  enough  to  think  of  under- 
taking it,  be  would  hope  to  continue  to  improve  and  so  to 
complete  the  dream  of  his  life,  a  thorough  tour  to  the  sites 
of  Biblical  history.  Much  of  the  time,  too,  every  stage  of 
bis  journey  was  a  stage  homeward. 

"Through  all  these  trying  experiences  his  serenity  of 
spirit,  his  faith,  his  consideration  for  others,  never  forsook 
him.  He  believed  that  his  Heavenly  Father  had  led  him 
thither,  and  that  everything  his  gracious  providence  per- 
mitted to  come  upon  him  was  ordered  in  infinite  wisdom 
and  love.  Despite  bis  bodily  condition  he  was  very  keen 
and  observant.  His  conversation  was  often  a  great  delight 
to  me.  His  broad  mind  found  room  for  all  good  things 
wherever  encountered,  or  with  whatsoever  religion  or  na- 
tionality associated.  At  Prague  we  attended  an  open-air 
service  with  processions  and  banners,  culminating  in  exhor- 
tation and  prayer  before  the  statue  of  St.  Nepomuck  in 
a  public  square.  When  it  was  over,  the  bishop  expressed 
himself  as  renewedly  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  our 
Church,  as  a  Church  of  the  people,  must  hold  fast  to  its  camps 
and  groves  and  Sunday-school  celebrations— to  its  free  and 
unconventional  life  of  song  and  worship— while  adding,  in 
their  places,  all  fruits  of  age  and  culture. 

"  In  Buda-Pesth,  in  a  delightful  social  evening  with  the 
former  pastor  and  other  patriotic  friends  of  Kossuth— en- 
joyed only  with  closed  and  guarded  doors— we  saAV,  as  per- 
haps nowhere  else,  the  intensity  of  the  flame  with  which 
the  love  of  liberty  was  ever  burning  in  the  bishop's  soul. 
In  Constantinople,  and  everywhere  under  the  Crescent,  he 
acquainted  himself  with  the  work  of  the  missionaries,  and 
was  always  recognized  as  a  welcome  and  cheering  visitor. 
In  Athens,  in  the  school  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hill,  it  was  touch- 
ing to  see  the  little  girls  reverentially  kiss  his  hand  as  he 
parted  from  them." 

Of  the  fatigue  of  the  land  travel  from  Beyrout  to  Sidon, 
23 


354  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPS  OX. 

Dr.  Warren  gives  this  account  in  a  letter  written  at  the 
time.  It  was  a  sharp  experience  for  a  sick  man,  just  up 
from  his  bed,  to  go  through : 

"  After  a  day  or  two  spent  in  rest  and  preparation  for 
the  trip  before  us,  we  set  out  for  Sidon— at  least  the  bishop 
and  myself— leaving  the  rest  of  the  party  to  complete  the 
preparations  and  follow  at  a  better  speed  than  a  recent  in- 
valid could  well  bear.  Our  road  lay  along  the  coast,  almost 
due  south  from  Beyrout,  across  great  tracts  of  sand  and 
gravelly  shingle,  where  the  heat  was  intense.  Twice  we 
came  to  shade  and  gladly  dismounted,  to  stretch  ourselves 
under  the  leafy  covert.  It  was  quite  late  when  we  had 
started,  and  now  noon  was  far  past,  but  back  along  the 
glowing  beach,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  quite  to  the  out- 
skirts of  the  city  we  had  left,  no  sign  of  our  companions 
was  visible.  Hunger  came  upon  us,  but  we  had  nothing  to 
eat ;  heat  tormented  us,  but  we  had  nothing  to  drink.  We 
dared  not  wait  for  them  to  come  up,  lest  something  had 
happened  to  prevent  their  coming,  and  then  night  would 
overtake  us  far  from  any  shelter.  If  we  pushed  on  with 
all  our  might  to  reach  Sidon,  there  was  no  hotel  to  go  to, 
nor  did  we  know  a  single  man  who  could  talk  an  European 
language.  The  dilemma  was  very  unpleasant,  but,  after 
holding  a  convention  upon  the  subject,  and  concluding  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  reach  Sidon  that  evening,  under 
any  circumstances,  we  resolved  to  make  for  the  little  mosque 
of  Xebi  Tunas,  and  see  if  we  could  not,  by  hook  or  crook, 
obtain  admittance  for  the  night.  This  mosque  stands  upon 
the  spot  where,  according  to  Mohammedan  tradition,  the 
prophet  Jonah  was  cast  up  by  the  great  fish.  We  reached 
it  just  after  dusk,  but  were  happily  relieved  from  the  neces- 
sity of  making  our  petition  by  signs,  as  our  dragoman  and 
the  rest  of  the  party  came  galloping  up  just  before  we  ar- 
rived. We  were  soon  comfortably  quartered  in  a  large  up- 
per room,  and  there,  over  the  long  white  shore,  with  the 
gentle  beat  of  the  rippling  surges  falling  in  measured  ca- 


ON  THE  WAT  HOME.  355 

dences  upon  our  ears,  we  read  the  story  of  the  recreant 
prophet,  who  thought  to  flee  from  the  face  of  the  Lord." 

At  last  he  is  on  the  sea  again,  with  his  face  towards  home ; 
he  writes,  on  his  way  to  Alexandria : 

"  I  have  at  length  taken  my  last  look  at  the  Holy  Land.  I  have  said 
in  my  heart '  Farewell,'  for  I  shall  never  again  see  its  mountains,  its  val- 
leys, and  its  plains.  On  Wednesday  morning  we  left  Jerusalem,  and 
tliat  evening  reached  Ilamleh.  Yesterday  morning  we  started  for  Joppa, 
and  about  noon  took  our  passage  on  the  French  steamer  to  Alexandria. 
It  did  not,  however,  start  until  eight  o'clock  last  night.  There,  at  Joppa, 
was  my  last  view  of  Palestine,  where  Peter  dwelt,  with  one  Simon,  a 
tanner,  by  the  seaside.  They  pretended  to  show  the  precise  house,  but 
in  this  I  have  no  faith.  Last  night  we  had  a  pleasant  run.  This  morn- 
ing breakfast,  which  is  at  half-past  nine  o'clock,  is  over,  and  I  have  time 
to  write  a  few  lines,  though  the  steamer,  a  propeller,  shakes  and  rolls 
considerably.  We  have  pleasant  weather,  about  as  warm  as  the  month 
of  June  with  us.  It  would  have  charmed  you  yesterday,  on  entering 
Joppa,  to  see  the  large  orchards  hanging  full  of  bright  golden  oranges, 
some  of  which  were  the  largest  I  have  ever  known.  On  the  table  for 
breakfast  the  average  size  was  about  three  to  three  and  one  half  inches 
in  diameter,  but  the  landlord  assured  me  that  sometimes  they  were 
double  that  size.  Everything,  too,  is  green.  Fresh  lettuce,  etc.,  is  reg- 
ularly served  in  the  steamer,  as  in  early  summer.  From  all  such  things, 
however,  I  almost  entirely  debar  myself. 

"  My  health  is,  I  think,  now  decidedly  improving,  and  you  need  have 
no  further  fears  of  the  Arabs.  I  have  left  the  whole  Bedouin  region.  I 
shall  be  among  a  class  of  Arabs  in  Egypt,  but  they  are  poor  and  inof- 
fensive. I  shall  now  be  wholly  at  your  command  to  return  just  as  soon 
as  it  shall  be  deemed  best,  though  I  could  have  enough  to  occupy  me 
very  busily  two  or  three  months  more.  Especially  write  me  when  and 
where  my  Conferences  begin.  You  see  by  this  that  I  have  wholly  aban- 
doned the  purpose  of  going  through  the  desert  of  Mount  Sinai.  Much 
as  I  should  like  the  trip,  my  health  will  not  permit  it,  nor  do  I  think  I 
would  be  justified  now  in  incurring  the  expense." 

His  next  is  from  Egypt : 

"Alexandria,  Egypt,  Dec.  19, 1857. 
"I  arrived  in  Egypt  a  week  ago  this  evening.    Spent  that  day  and  the 
Sabbath  in  this  city,  and  on  Monday  went  to  Cairo.     I  visited  the  pyr- 
amids, ascended  to  the  top  of  the  highest,  though  for  me  it  was  a  hard 
task,  which  I  could  not  have  accomplished  without  the  aid  of  the  Arabs, 


356  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

who  arc  perfectly  familiar  with  the  best  way  of  ascent,  and  who  help 
strangers  in  hope  of '  baksheesh.'  I  also  visited  the  catacombs,  and  wan- 
dered over  the  ruins  of  old  Memphis,  went  to  the  lonely  obelisk  that 
marks  the  site  of  Heliopolis,  once  a  city  of  renown.  The  petrified  forest, 
as  it  is  called,  I  have  also  seen  in  part.  This,  with  a  view  of  some  of  the 
mosques  of  Cairo,  and  palaces,  etc.,  occupied  my  whole  time.  My  present 
plan  is  to  sail  in  the  next  steamer,  Monday  or  Tuesday,  for  Corfu,  and 
thence  to  Athens.  Then  my  Asiatic  and  African  journey  will  have  been 
finished,  and  I  shall  feel  that  I  am  much  nearer  to  you  and  to  home." 

At  Naples  he  was  prostrated  again ;  he  writes  from  this 
city: 

"  January  19, 1858. 
"  I  have  been  quite  ill  again,  and  have  been  under  the  doctor's  hands 
since  the  day  after  my  arrival  here,  now  about  a  week.  I  find  also  that 
my  Conferences  begin  in  Arkansas  in  March.  This  will  not  allow  me 
time  to  lie  by  with  sickness,  and  then  to  complete  my  route.  Conse- 
quently I  put  it  all  aside,  and,  though  here  in  Italy  and  obliged  to  pass 
within  eight  hours  of  Rome,  I  must  give  it  all  up.  My  health  and 
strength  are  so  nearly  gone  that  I  must  try  to  get  home  if  I  can." 

From  Naples  he  journeys  by  sea  to  Marseilles,  and  from 
Marseilles  by  rail  to  Paris,  where  he  begins  to  enjoy  the 
sense  of  getting  near  home,  though  the  Atlantic  still  inter- 
vened : 

"Paris,  January  24,  1858. 
"  I  arrived  in  this  metropolis  of  France  last  night,  which  I  left  a  few 
days  more  than  five  months  ago.  I  found  at  Naples  that  my  health 
would  not  bear  completing  my  contemplated  tour  in  Italy  in  time  for 
my  return  to  my  Conferences.  And  as  I  know  you  must  be  lonely,  and 
I  feared  also  sad,  I  concluded  that  my  duty  was  to  omit  Rome  and  all 
else,  and  to  turn  my  face  homeward.  I  stop  in  this  city  a  few  days  to 
gather  some  books  and  maps  and  plates,  which  I  may  need  if  I  should 
write  anything,  and  then  I  shall  go  to  London  and  sj^end  a  few  days 
there  for  the  same  purpose,  and  especially  to  purchase  some  Methodist 
materials  which  I  need.  My  health,  though  not  as  vigorous  as  when  I 
left  home,  is  now  better  than  for  some  time  past,  and  I  hope  in  a  few 
weeks  more,  God  willing,  to  be  on  American  soil,  and,  above  all,  in  the 
bosom  of  my  family.  How  I  would  enjoy  a  month  of  undisturbed  do- 
mestic quiet !  but  it  will  be  long  before  I  can  hope  for  this.  Indeed, 
perhaps  it  is  wrong  to  wish  for  rest  in  this  world.     There  is  rest  in  the 


AT  HOME,  AND  STILL  SICK.  357 

grave — there  is  joy  in  heaven,  yet  I  do  hope  for  some  more  calmness  and 
settled  habits  than  I  have  had  for  a  long  time." 

In  London  he  was  sick  again,  but  his  indomitable  will 
still  carried  him  forward.  Short  trips  were  taken  to  places 
in  England  of  interest  to  American  Methodists.  He  is 
forming  plans  of  labor  at  home;  more  than  he  can  exe- 
cute : 

"London,  Feb.  5, 1858. 

"  I  send  you  a  paper  which  has  a  slight  note  of  myself.  That  day  I 
had  a  chill,  which  had  been  troubling  me  some  time  before,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  take  to  my  bed.  The  doctor  has  kept  me  in  bed  or  in  my 
room  ever  since,  as  he  said  both  my  liver  and  right  lung  were  in  great 
danger  unless  I  rested  wholly  and  took  medicine. 

I  am  now  much  better  than  I  have  been  for  two  months.  I  greatly 
needed  a  little  rest.  This  has  detained  me  here,  as  I  have  not  been  able 
to  look  after  any  books  or  any  business  as  yet.  But  yesterday  I  rode  in 
a  carriage  to  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  was  able  to  spend  there  an  hour  or 
two.  I  think  I  shall  soon  be  able  to  commence  looking  after  such  books, 
etc.,  as  I  want.  But  I  cannot  yet  fix  the  time  of  my  sailing,  for  I  am 
well  assured  that  it  is  better  for  you  and  the  family  and  the  Church,  as 
well  as  for  myself,  that  I  should  not  attempt  any  labor  or  undergo  any 
more  exposure  until  I  have  fully  conquered  my  disease  and  gained  more 
strength.  In  the  meantime  be  perfectly  easy.  I  have  a  very  comfortable 
home,  kind  friends,  and  Charles  is  with  me  in  good  health." 

All  through  the  year  1858  Bishop  Simpson  was  sick,  much 
of  the  time  at  his  home  in  Pittsburgh.  Though  able  to 
attend  sometimes  to  official  duty,  he  was  wholly  unfitted 
for  preaching.  Now  and  then  the  report  was  sj^read  that 
he  could  not  possibly  get  well ;  his  friends  waited  for  his 
recovery  with  alternations  of  hope  and  fear,  and  sent  him 
frequent  expressions  of  their  affection  for  him.  The  strain 
of  his  prolonged  exertions,  while  abroad,  to  keep  himself  up 
to  his  work  as  a  traveller,  told  upon  him,  and  was  followed 
by  a  long  reaction  of  weakness  and  pain.  His  thoughts 
dwelt  much  upon  the  possibility  of  a  speedy  death,  and  his 
anxieties  for  the  future  welfare  of  his  family  expressed 
themselves  in  his  letters. 


358  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

By  the  spring  of  1S59  he  was  able  to  hold  his  Conferences, 
but  with  that  which  the  people  most  wished  from  him — his 
preaching — omitted.  By  July,  he  reports  himself  as  preach- 
ing again,  and  that  "  out  of  doors,  without  much  injury." 

Starting  late  in  1859  upon  his  fall  tour  of  Conference  vis- 
itation, lie  writes  to  his  wife  the  day  after  their  parting: 
"  Look  upward,  and  I  pray  that  God  may  give  }Tou  the  rich 
consolations  of  his  grace.  Life  at  best  is  short,  its  scenes 
will  soon  pass  away,  eternity  will  be  our  home — our  only 
home,  our  permanent  house.  All  we  need  be  anxious  about 
is  to  do  our  duty  to  ourselves,  each  other,  and  to  those  in- 
trusted to  our  care.  Let  us  act  as  if  God  saw  us  and  heard 
us  constantly,  and  does  he  not  ?  Are  not  his  presence  and  his 
power  always  about  us?  Take  courage  to  leave  all  your 
cares  and  anxieties  in  the  hand  of  him  who  careth  for  you." 

He  recurs  to  this  topic  again  in  a  letter  written  a  little 
later  on.  He  is  at  Brockport,  New  York,  holding  a  Confer- 
ence, and  in  the  midst  of  the  troubles  with  the  Xazarites,* 
so  called : 

"  I  have  great  confidence  that  God  will  take  care  of  you 
in  my  absence,  as  I  believe  that  I  am  necessarily  absent,  en- 
gaged in  his  work.  But  we  are  not  far  apart  when  we  meet 
at  a  throne  of  grace.  When  I  look  up  at  the  moon  these 
clear  nights,  I  can  fancy  that  it  shines  also  on  my  loved 
ones,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan,  as  brightly  as  it  shines 
on  me  here,  not  far  from  Lake  Ontario.  And  if  that  moon, 
so  low  comparatively,  has  such  a  view,  how  much  greater 
has  he  who  sits  upon  the  circle  of  the  heavens.  He  is  really 
very  near  us,  and  then  he  careth  for  us — yes,  even  for  us. 
Thanks  be  to  his  holy  name  for  the  revelation  that  he 
careth  for  us.  I  can — yes,  I  do — commit  to  him  my  dearest 
on  earth,  my  own  loved  wife,  and  to  his  arms,  for  they  are 
wide  and  strong,  I  can  commit  my  children  also." 

*  Subsequently  the  Nazarites  seceded  from  us,  and  formed  the  Free 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 


HARD  AT  WORK  AGAIN.  359 

He  is  now  occupied  in  the  old  way,  that  is,  to  the  last  atom 
of  his  strength.  Writing  from  Brockport  again,  October  9, 
1859,  he  says:  "I  have  been  exceedingly  busy.  I  have  sat 
in  Conference  from  eight  to  twelve  and  from  two  to  half- 
past  five ;  and  in  cabinet  from  seven  to  ten  or  eleven  at 
night.  And  all  the  intervals  engaged  in  interviews  and  ex- 
amining papers  for  decision."  In  his  very  brief  notices  of 
the  Nazarites,  he  sketches  a  scene  in  the  Conference-room 
not  often  witnessed :  "  Women  have  come  by  troops — one 
crowd'  by  a  canal-boat,  others  from  Utica,  and  some,  it  is 
said,  from  St.  Louis.  They  are  in  attendance  in  the  galleries, 
and  some  have  their  knitting  busily  employed.  They  are 
all  Nazarites,  and  use,  in  their  conversation,  many  epithets 
denunciatory  of  the  Conference." 

In  this  year  he  changed  his  home  from  Pittsburgh  to 
Evanston,  a  suburb  of  Chicago.  A  town  had  been  laid  out 
by  his  friend  Doctor,  afterwards  Governor,  Evans  and  his 
associates,  the  Northwestern  University  had  been  planted, 
and  the  bishop  was  greatly  desired  as  neighbor,  counsellor, 
and  leader.  Still  his  presence  was  almost  as  much  demand- 
ed in  every  part  of  the  country,  and  he  was,  as  usual,  flying 
from  point  to  point  as  fast  as  trains  could  carry  him.  In 
the  middle  of  December,  1859,  he  wrote  to  his  wife  from 
New  York  :  "  Unexpectedly  I  have  agreed  to  stay  here  over 
next  Sabbath  to  preach.  I  have  an  engagement  at  Altoona, 
but  have  postponed  it.  My  engagements  are  to-day  (18th 
of  December)  in  Seventeenth  Street  Church  ;  Monday  even- 
ing at  Newark ;  Tuesday  evening  at  St.  Paul's ;  Thursday 
at  Mamaroneck,  and  Thursday  night  at  a  meeting  for  the 
Home  of  Aged  Women ;  on  Sunday  following  at  Hanson 
Place,  Brooklyn."  At  times  he  wearies  of  such  excessive 
exertion.  In  January,  1860,  he  writes :  "  And  now  ten 
thousand  wishes  for  your  health  and  happiness.  I  do  not 
regard  my  own  hard  work,  nor  my  own  exposure,  but  I 
feel  anxious  for  my  family.  Were  it  so  that  I  could  remain 
at  home  consistently  with  duty,  how  glad  I  would  be.     But 


3G0  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

God  can  take  care  of  my  loved  ones  in  my  absence.  I  some- 
times saA%  '  What  if  God  had  removed  me  altogether  when 
I  was  sick?  "What  then  for  my  loved  ones?'  Is  it  not  bet- 
ter to  live  a  little  longer  with  them,  even  if  at  home  only 
occasionally.  God  grant  to  have  my  dear  wife  and  chil- 
dren in  his  own  embrace,  and  may  his  Holy  Spirit  give 
light  and  peace  and  comfort  to  every  one."  At  times  he 
writes  in  a  playful  vein,  but  always  with  the  same  sweet 
affectionateness.  From  Manchester,  ]Sew  Hampshire,  where 
he  was  holding  Conference  in  April,  1860,  he  sends  this 
message  to  his  new  home :  "  To-day  is  bright  and  beautiful 
after  the  rain.  How  I  wish  you  were  here,  or  that  I 
could  look  in  upon  our  home  on  Lake  Michigan.  How 
are  you?  Is  your  health  improving?  Are  all  well?  Did 
you  buy  that  new  bonnet  Charlie  spoke  of  when  he  wrote, 
and  does  it  please  you?  Are  the  ribbons  ' greenish-blue,' 
or  '  bluish-green '  ?  Is  it  the  new  '  coal-scuttle '  pattern,  or 
is  it  of  the  old  '  kiss-me-quick  shape '  ?  I  think  the  latter 
is  my  preference." 

Meanwhile  the  hard  work  goes  on.  One  wonders  that  he 
ever  lived  beyond  his  threescore  and  ten  years.  He  is  hold- 
ing his  fall  Conferences  of  preachers,  and  writes  from  Ionia, 
Michigan :  "  My  health  is  about  as  it  was.  My  feet  troubled 
me  some  at  the  Ohio  Conference,  but  they  are  better  now. 
Preaching  in  the  open  air  to  a  vast  crowd,  and  speaking  at 
the  morning  meeting,  and  reading  the  appointments  in  a 
grove  at  night  gave  me  some  hoarseness,  which  has  bothered 
me  a  little.  The  grove  was  lighted  up  by  the  '  "Wide- 
awakes.' I  left  in  a  hack  at  half-past  nine,  rode  twelve 
miles,  stopped  and  rested  till  four  in  the  morning,  and  rode 
fourteen  miles  more  to  catch  the  train  at  nine.  Thence  to 
Cincinnati  at  half-past  five  p.m.  ;  thence  to  Toledo  at  four 
a.m  ;  Detroit  at  seven,  and  here  at  one  p.m.  So  you  have 
my  journal." 

He  is  now  in  his  fiftieth  year,  and  thinks  himself  growing 
old.     Of  this  he  speaks  in  a  very  tender  strain.     He  writes 


THE  CHURCH— SECESSION  THREATENED.  361 

from  Ionia  again,  September  28,  1860:  "How  blest  is  it 
that  hearts  once  joined  may  be  united  forever.  Other 
things  are  changing — scenes  change — our  bodies  grow  old, 
our  eyes  weak,  our  limbs  infirm,  but  the  heart  remains 
ever  young.  Its  affections  are  ever  fresh.  It  may  not  love 
so  passionately,  it  may  not  throb  so  violently,  but  pure  and 
changeless  as  a  fountain  of  life  are  its  outgushings  of  sym- 
pathy. And  then  why  should  we  not  love  more  truly  and 
strongly  as  we  grow  older  ?  We  have  fewer  to  love.  The 
scenes  of  our  childhood  are  fled ;  the  sweet  flowers  and 
birds  are  gone.  Our  playmates  and  schoolmates  have,  one 
by  one,  passed  away,  or  have  parted  from  us.  We  have  our- 
selves yet  and  our  children  to  love.  They,  too,  will  leave  us. 
We  started  down  the  river  of  life  together,  and  we  shall 
sail  on  together  until  we  reach  the  great  ocean,  or  one  of  us 
drops  from  the  other  to  perish  in  the  waters.  If  so,  how 
lonely  will  the  voyage  be  to  the  other !  It  seems  to  me  I 
shall  look  forward  to  a  speedy  arrival  at  the  end  of  my  voy- 
age. But  why  do  I  moralize  %  Were  this  heart  silent,  other 
hearts  would  beat  on ;  were  these  eyes  closed,  other  eyes 
would  still  smile,  and  soon  the  very  waves  that  cover  me 
would  sparkle  back  the  starlight  of  heaven.  Be  it  so.  The 
world  need  not  mourn  for  me  when  I  pass  away.  A  few 
hearts  will  bleed,  a  few  eyes  will  weep,  and  then  all  shall  be 
as  though  I  had  never  been." 

We  must  now  turn  to  other  scenes  and  other  events.  Every 
intelligent  American  living  between  the  years  1840  and  1860 
carried  in  his  heart  an  apprehension  of  the  possible  over- 
throw of  our  national  union.  The  unending  slavery  contro- 
versy could  not  and  would  not  be  settled ;  adjustments 
failed  to  adjust,  and  compromises  failed  to  satisfy.  Our 
own  Church  had  incurred  the  loss  of  nearly  all  its  slave- 
holding  territory  in  1811.  We  still  retained  Delaware, 
Maryland,  parts  of  Virginia,  and  had  a  precarious  footing 
in  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  Arkansas.  The  ministers  and 
members  of  the  Conferences  in  slaveholding  territory  wrho 


362  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

still  adhered  to  us  looked  for  considerate  treatment,  in  view 
of  their  fidelity  to  the  ancient  anti-slavery  convictions  of 
Methodism.  They  stood  upon  the  declarations  of  the  Dis- 
cipline, as  it  was  in  1844,  which  affirmed  slavery  to  be  an  evil 
to  be  extirpated,  and  refused  office  to  slaveholders  in  all  states 
where  emancipation  was  permissible.  As  we  look  back  upon 
those  years  from  this  distance  of  time,  it  is  clear  that  it  was 
impossible  for  the  Church  to  stand  still.  The  repeal,  in  1854, 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  which  had  forbidden  slavery 
to  pass  north  of  a  certain  parallel  of  latitude,  and  the  con- 
sequent opening  of  the  Far  West  and  Northwest  to  slave- 
holding  settlers,  had  destroyed  the  confidence  of  the  country 
in  the  stability  of  any  legislative  adjustments.  And  when 
to  this  was  added  the  contention  that  the  National  Consti- 
tution, by  its  inherent  virtue,  protected  slaveholding  in  all 
territories  until  such  time  as  each  one  became  a  state,  the 
indignation  of  the  citizens  of  the  East,  West,  and  Northwest 
burned  with  a  heat  that  had  never  been  known  before. 

As  citizens  were  church  members  and  church  members  citi- 
zens, the  Church  was  as  much  affected  by  this  rising  anger  as 
the  State  itself.  On  the  one  side  it  was  felt  that,  inasmuch 
as  slavery  was  assailing  the  integrity  of  the  nation,  a  new 
and  stronger  testimony  should  be  delivered  by  the  Church 
against  slaveholding ;  on  the  other  that,  as  the  fidelity  of 
the  Conferences  in  slave  states  still  with  us  in  1860  had 
been  put,  in  1811,  to  the  severest  test,  they  should  not  be 
subjected  to  further  trial.  It  was  not  a  question  of  slavery 
or  freedom.  Rather  it  was  a  question  of  the  best  measures 
to  be  applied  to  members  of  the  Church  who  had  been  faith- 
ful to  us  ;  faithful,  too,  in  the  presence  of  a  pressure  which, 
if  it  could  have  had  its  way,  would  have  forced  them  into 
union  with  the  pro-slavery  South.  It  seemed  good  to  the 
General  Conference,  in  1800,  to  record  anew  its  condemna- 
tion of  slavery  and  slaveholding.  In  order  to  give  this  act, 
as  far  as  could  be,  the  sanction  of  antiquity,  it  was  couched 
in  the  terms  of  the  first  declaration  upon  slavery  made  by 


EXCITEMENT  IN  THE  BORDER  CONFERENCES.      363 

American  Methodism  in  1780.  Like  the  testimony  of  1780, 
too,  the  New  Chapter  (as  it  was  called)  was  admonitory  and 
advisory  only,  not  statutory.  Its  passage  was  followed  by 
great  excitement  in  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  Central  and 
Western  Virginia.  Shall  we  secede  or  stay  ?  was  the  ques- 
tion which  the  Methodists  of  this  region  at  once  asked 
themselves.  Bishop  Simpson  was  strongly  anti-slavery  in 
opinion,  but  he  deprecated  another  rupture  of  the  Church. 
The  letters  of  his  correspondents,  in  my  hands,  express  many 
varieties  of  opinion,  but  the  expression  is  always  intense. 
His  faithful  friend,  Gordon  Battelle,  writes  him  from  West 
Virginia  in  September,  1860 :  "  With  our  present  prospects, 
even  if  there  should  be  no  immediate  or  actual  revolt  of  our 
members,  some  of  the  most  efficient  laborers  in  our  commu- 
nity will  leave,  I  fear,  at  the  end  of  the  year."  In  Balti- 
more a  convention  of  Methodists  was  held  to  determine  what 
was  expedient  to  be  done.  And  there  was  a  foreboding  of 
trouble  when  the  Baltimore  Conference  should  meet  in  the 
spring  of  1861.  In  order  to  prevent  the  threatened  disruption 
The  Methodist  was  established  in  New  York.  Its  first  edi- 
torial, July  14,  1860,  was  a  declaration  of  its  purpose  to 
maintain  the  unity  of  the  Church.*  Dr.  McClintock,  its 
corresponding  editor,  wrote  to  Bishop  Simpson  from  Paris : 
"  The  troubles  of  the  Church  at  home  pierce  me  through. 
The  Methodist  has  done  and  will  do  much  to  prevent  seces- 
sion.    This  is  now  its  mission." 

I  have  in  my  possession  none  of  the  letters  of  Bishop 
Simpson  on  his  side  of  this  animated  correspondence.  He 
heard  much,  thought  much,  was  in  hearty  sympathy  with 
the  good  men  and  true  who  were  struggling  to  preserve  the 


*  In  this  editorial  The  Methodist  said  :  "  The  mere  advice  of  a  party  in 
power,  whether  in  Church  or  State,  has  never  been,  and  never  can  be, 
considered  a  sufficient  cause  for  revolution.  And  we  are  satisfied  that 
secession,  for  such  a  cause,  cannot  be  vindicated,  either  before  him  '  who 
is  head  over  all  things  '  or  before  the  general  Christian  public.1' 


364  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

unity  of  the  Church,  but  beyond  this  I  have  no  information. 
His  correspondence  here  again  fails,  just  at  the  points  where 
the  record  of  his  opinions  would  be  most  interesting  to  us. 
But  another  and  greater  conflict  was  impending,  in  which 
he  was  to  be  a  conspicuous  actor.  To  his  part  in  this,  the 
last  struggle  between  freedom  and  slavery,  we  must  now 
direct  our  attention. 


XVII. 
THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

1861-1865. 


The  Contest  over  the  Spread  of  Slavery  Transferred  from  the  Church  to 
the  State.— Attitude  of  Political  Parties  in  I860.— Effect  on  the  South 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  Election. — Bishop  Simpson  and  the  President. — Tes- 
timony upon  the  Bishop's  Relations  to  Mr.  Lincoln. — Bishop  Bowman's 
Narrative.  —  Testimony  of  General  Fisk  and  Doctor  Lanahan.  —  The 
Bishop  becomes  the  Evangelist  of  Patriotism. — His  great  War  Speech. 
— Effects  produced  by  its  Delivery. — Scenes  in  Cincinnati  and  New 
York. — Not  a  Line  of  this  Address  Written  by  him. — Despondency  of 
the  Country  in  1864. — The  General  Conference  Sends  a  Deputation  to 
the  President  to  Assure  him  of  the  Support  of  the  Churches.  —  Mr. 
Lincoln's  Reply  to  the  Conference's  Message. — Removal  of  the  Bishop 
to  Philadelphia.  —  Address,  in  Behalf  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  at  the  Sanitary 
Fair,  Philadelphia.  — The  Death  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  1865.  — Bishop 
Simpson's  Address  at  the  President's  Grave. — Another  Closing  Scene. 
— The  Last  Meeting  of  the  Christian  Commission  in  February,  1866. — 
The  Bishop  Speaks  the  Final  Words. 


REPEAL  OF  THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE.  367 


XVII. 

The  seventeen  years  from  1S41  to  1861  sufficed  to  bring 
the  contest,  which  in  the  former  year  shook  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  General  Conference,  to  a  broader  field,  and  to  a 
decision  by  other  weapons  than  the  weapons  of  logic.  In  fact, 
Church  and  State,  on  either  side  of  the  dividing  line,  were 
keeping  pace  with  each  other.  It  required  a  longer  time  to 
tear  the  nation  apart  than  sufficed  for  dividing  the  Church, 
but  the  same  convictions,  the  same  passions,  were  at  work 
which  had  sundered  the  ties  of  Christian  brotherhood.  In 
the  State,  as  we  have  seen,  the  concession  in  the  Compro- 
mise of  1850,  which  permitted  the  territories  acquired  from 
Mexico  to  be  organized  with  or  without  slavery  at  the  option 
of  their  inhabitants,  Avas  boldly  applied  to  all  the  remain- 
ing territories  of  the  nation.  In  December,  1853,  President 
Pierce  declared  that  the  Compromise  legislation  of  1850 
"  had  given  new  vigor  to  our  institutions  and  restored  a 
sense  of  repose  and  security  to  the  public  mind."  *  In  Jan- 
uary, 1851,  one  month  thereafter,  a  bill  was  brought  into 
the  national  Senate,  repealing  the  Missouri  Compromise  of 
1820,  and  opening  the  vast  region  from  the  northern  line  of 
Arkansas  to  the  British  possessions  to  settlement  by  slave- 
holders. This  repealing  bill  was  passed,  and  Nebraska  and 
Kansas  were  organized,  with  the  result  of  an  actual  but  sup- 
pressed civil  war.  Bands  of  energetic  settlers  went  out  to 
the  plains  of  Kansas,  resolved  on  the  one  side  to  establish 
freedom,  on  the  other,  slavery,  if  necessary,  by  force  of  arms. 

*  Quoted  from  Mr.  Blaine's  "Twenty  Years  in  Congress,"  Vol.  I.,  p. 
110. 


368  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"When,  in  1860,  the  two  parties  met  once  more  to  select 
candidates  for  the  Presidency,  the  lines  of  separation  be- 
tween them  were  drawn  more  strongly  still.  The  Demo- 
cratic convention  was  hopelessly  divided,  and  two  candidates 
of  that  party  were  named  for  our  highest  office.  Mr.  Doug- 
las and  his  friends  stood  firmly  on  the  ground  of  non-inter- 
vention by  Congress  with  slavery  in  the  territories;  Mr. 
Breckenridge  and  his  followers  just  as  solidly  on  the  affir- 
mation that  it  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to  give  slavery  in  the 
territories  national  protection.  Mr.  Lincoln  represented  the 
immovable  opposition  to  any  further  extension  of  slavery. 
His  pithy  phrase,  "  The  Union  cannot  exist  half  slave  and 
half  free,"  was  caught  up  and  repeated  all  over  the  free 
states.  It  put  in  the  concisest  form  the  conviction  to  which 
the  country  had  come,  and  strengthened  the  purpose  to  resist, 
to  the  bitter  end,  the  schemes  of  the  Southern  extremists. 
The  effect  of  his  election  was  instantly  felt.  By  the  close 
of  18G0  South  Carolina  had  declared  itself  out  of  the  Union; 
and  when  he  was  inaugurated  in  March,  1861,  he  was 
met  by  the  spectacle  of  states  seceding  and  preparing  for 
war. 

Bishop  Simpson's  life  had  been  a  long  preparation  for  the 
service  which  he  was  now  to  render  his  country.  He  had 
been,  as  a  delegate,  a  hearer  of,  if  not  a  sharer  in,  the  im- 
portant debates  of  1811;  as  editor  of  tY&Westem  Christian 
Advocate  he  had,  in  1850,  discussed,  with  vigor,  Mr.  Clay's 
scheme  of  pacification.  In  carrying  on  this  controversy  he 
had  won  the  confidence  of  Mr.  S.  P.  Chase,  Mr.  Lincoln's 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  with  Mr.  Stanton  and  Mr.  Lin- 
coln he  soon  came  to  be  on  terms  of  intimacy ;  he  com- 
pelled the  respect  of  Mr.  Seward  and  Mr.  Montgomery 
Blair. 

The  president  discovered  very  quickly  that,  the  issues  of 
the  war  being  moral,  the  support  of  the  churches  was  of  the 
last  importance  to  him.  He  knew  well  that  no  men  under- 
stood the  people  so  thoroughly  as  the  Methodist  bishops, 


ATTITUDE   OF  MARYLAND  AND   VIRGINIA.         369 

who,  being  without  dioceses,  were  continually  passing  over 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  With  Bishop  Simpson 
his  relations  became  especially  close.  Most  unfortunately 
again  the  bishop's  letters  and  private  memoranda  fail  to 
shed  such  light  as  we  might  wish  upon  this  important  period 
of  his  life.  I  have,  however,  gathered  from  the  reports  and 
reminiscences  of  friends,  sufficient  material  to  supply  this 
defect. 

As  usual,  the  old  uncle,  now  greatly  advanced  in  years, 
was  one  among  the  first  to  discern  the  character  of  the  con- 
flict. He  writes  to  his  nephew,  from  Iowa,  April  23,  1861 : 
"The  great,  the  irrepressible  contest  between  liberty  and 
slavery  has  at  last  broken  out  in  war,  and  a  war  of  no  ordi- 
nary magnitude  it  may  yet  be.  But  the  Lord  reigns ;  let 
the  earth  rejoice.  Bad  as  war  is,  he  can  cause  good  to  fol- 
low ;  therefore  it  may  be  that  the  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question,  both  in  Church  and  State,  is  about  to  be  put  to 
rest  forever  by  the  destruction  of  the  peculiar  institution." 
The  bishop's  steadfast  and  courageous  friend,  Dr.  John 
Lanahan,  then  stationed  in  Alexandria,  Virginia,  kept  him 
advised  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  national  capital,  and 
conferred  much  with  him  upon  the  events  now  following 
one  another  with  startling  speed.  There  was  a  likelihood 
of  the  secession  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  from  our 
Church.  A  convention  of  laymen  was  held  simultaneously 
with  the  assembling  of  the  Conference  in  Stanton,  Virginia, 
March,  1861.  The  la3Tmen  and  ministers  there  organized  in 
two  separate  meetings  acted  and  reacted  upon  each  other. 
Many  clamored  for  instant  secession ;  but  the  proceedings 
ended  in  the  passing  of  a  protest  against  the  "  Isew  Chapter  " 
on  slavery.  AVhat  was  to  come  of  all  this  aroused  feeling  no 
one  could  tell.  The  probable  effect  of  the  decision  of  the 
Conference  upon  the  attitude  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  tow- 
ards the  Union  was,  however,  present  to  every  mind,  and  gave 
additional  keenness  to  the  debate.  It  was,  in  point  of  fact,  if 
not  consciously,  a  struggle  for  position  in  the  greater  contest 
21 


370  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

yet  to  come.  Bishop  Scott,  who  held  the  Conference,  wrote 
to  Bishop  Simpson,  March  14th :  "  The  prospect  is  stormy. 
The  convention,  it  is  said,  will  close  this  afternoon,  having 
recommended  a  conditional  plan  of  separation — to  separate 
if  by  fall  there  is  no  prospect  of  relief."  And  he  adds,  pa- 
thetically :  "  I  have  never  felt  the  loneliness  of  official  posi- 
tion so  much  as  I  have  done  here.  How  painful  the  suspense 
in  which  we  are  held."  Dr.  Lanahan,  who  showed  unusual 
clear-sightedness  in  his  prevision  of  the  future,  wrote  to 
Bishop  Simpson  as  early  as  Feb.  8,  1861 :  "  Maryland  will 
remain  in  the  Union  in  any  event.  The  fact  is,  the  incom- 
ing administration  will  not  let  her  go."  And  so  it  came  to 
pass. 

Thus  the  events  which  marked  the  opening  of  the  civil 
war  appealed  to  Bishop  Simpson  as  they  did  to  very  few 
men  of  important  position  in  the  country.  First,  it  was  his 
dmvy,  as  a  loyal  citizen,  to  do  what  in  him  lay  to  preserve 
the  Union  in  its  entirety.  Next,  it  was  of  the  utmost 
moment  to  maintain  the  unity  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  by  resisting  the  secession  of  the  parts  of  it  lying 
below  the  free-state  line.  To  save  this  region  to  the  Church 
was,  in  good  part,  to  save  it  to  the  Union.  It  was  a  region 
of  divided  opinion,  and  Church  relations  largely  determined 
opinion.  Still  further,  it  was  incumbent  upon  him  to  sus- 
tain the  faith  and  courage  of  the  people  with  all  the  re- 
sources of  his  eloquence.  Mr.  Lincoln  very  quickly  recog- 
nized the  importance  of  his  co-operation.  Both  were  at 
that  time  Illinois  men,  and  I  am  informed  that  conferences 
between  them  took  place  in  Springfield,  Mr.  Lincoln's  home, 
during  the  winter  of  1860-61.  AVhile  the  war  lasted  the 
bishop  was  very  often  sent  for  to  come  to  Washington  for 
consultation  with  the  president  and  with  Mr.  Stanton.  Mr. 
Stanton  was  the  son  of  a  Methodist,  had  been  reared  in  the 
Methodist  faith,  and,  under  his  hard,  official  manner,  carried 
a  heart  surcharged  with  feeling.  Bishop  Simpson's  advent 
to  the  war-office  was  usually  followed  by  an  invitation  to 


BISHOP  BOWMAN'S  REMINISCENCES.  371 

the  secretary's  private  room,  where  long  conferences  were 
held,  ending  sometimes,  at  Mr.  Stanton's  request,  in  earnest 
prayer.* 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  volume  to  trace  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  war  from  1861  to  1865  ;  to  depict,  if  that  were 
possible,  the  alternations  of  hope  and  despair.  Nor  need  we 
dwell  upon  the  slow  growth,  in  many  minds,  of  the  convic- 
tion that  the  struggle,  instead  of  being  a  holiday  parade  of 
ninety  days,  was  to  task  all  the  resources  of  the  loyal  peo- 
ple. In  the  main  the  citizens  of  strongest  moral  feelings 
had  the  clearest  vision  of  coming  events.  Especially  was 
this  true  of  those  who  kept  aloof  from  political  jugglery,  and 
had  small  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  political  combinations  for 
the  repairing  of  the  great  schism.  The  religious  mind  of 
the  country  comprehended,  better  than  the  political,  the 
true  nature  of  the  conflict.  And  among  the  far-sighted 
men  Bishop  Simpson  may  be  set  down  as  one  of  the  most 
sagacious. 

I  can  best  show  his  relations  to  Mr.  Lincoln  by  putting 
on  record  here  the  narratives  furnished  me  by  his  personal 
friends.  Besides  their  bearing  on  the  point  in  hand,  they 
are  interesting  as  memorials  of  the  period  of  the  war. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Bowman,  now  senior  bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was  chaplain  of  the  United 
States  Senate  during  the  latter  part  of  the  war.  He  writes 
thus  of  the  intercourse  of  the  president  and  Bishop  Simpson, 
as  it  fell,  at  that  time,  under  his  observation  : 

"  In  1864-65,  as  I  spent  several  months  in  Washington,  I 
often  heard  members  of  Congress  and  other  distinguished 
visitors  in  the  city  say  that  they  had  heard  the  president 
frequently  express  his  great  respect  for,  and  his  confidence 
in,  Bishop  Simpson.  It  was  well  known  that  the  president 
occasionally  sent  for  the  bishop,  in  order  to  procure  infor- 

*  My  authority  for  this  last  fact  is  Mrs.  Simpson,  who  had  it  from  the 
bishop  himself. 


372  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

relation  about  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  The  president  said, 
in  substance, '  Bishop  Simpson  is  a  wise  and  thoughtful  man. 
He  travels  extensively  over  the  country,  and  sees  things  as 
they  are.  He  has  no  axe  to  grind,  and,  therefore,  I  can  de- 
pend upon  him  for  such  information  as  I  need.' 

"  On  one  occasion,  with  two  or  three  friends,  I  was  con- 
versing; with  Mr.  Lincoln,  near  the  distant  window  in  the 
'  Blue  Koom,'  when,  unexpectedly,  the  door  opened,  and 
Bishop  Simpson  entered.  Immediately  the  president  raised 
both  arms,  and  started  for  the  bishop,  almost  on  a  run. 
"When  he  reached  him  he  grasped  him  with  both  hands  and 
exclaimed,  '  "Why,  Bishop  Simpson,  how  glad  I  am  to  see 
you !'  In  a  few  moments  we  retired,  and  left  them  alone. 
I  afterwards  learned  that  they  spent  several  hours  in  pri- 
vate, and  that  this  was  one  of  the  times  when  the  bishop 
had  been  specially  asked  by  the  president  to  come  to  "Wash- 
ington for  such  an  interview. 

"  At  another  time,  under  very  different  circumstances,  I 
had  an  opportunity  to  witness  the  kind  feeling  which  the 
president  evidently  cherished  for  the  bishop.  Simpson  de- 
livered his  wonderful  lecture  on  *  Our  Country '  in  one  of 
our  churches  in  "Washington.  Lincoln,  without  any  mark 
of  distinction,  was  in  the  great  crowd  of  hearers.  I  hap- 
pened to  be  near  him,  and  could  see  his  every  movement. 
I  never  saw  a  hearer  who  gave  more  marked  evidence  of  a 
personal  interest  in  a  speaker  than  the  president  gave  that 
evening.  He  joined  most  heartily  in  the  frequent,  and  some- 
times prolonged,  applause.  At  one  time,  as  the  bishop  was 
speaking  of  the  wonderful  opportunity  that  our  country 
affords  to  young  men,  he  paused  for  a  moment,  and  said, 
'  "Why,  it  is  commonly  reported  that  a  rail-splitter  has  been 
elected  president  of  the  United  States!'  This,  of  course, 
brought  down  the  house,  and  I  was  particularly  pleased  to 
see  with  what  almost  boyish  enthusiasm  the  president  joined 
in  the  tremendous  applause.  At  the  close  of  the  lecture  Mr. 
Lincoln  stepped  out  into  the  aisle  and  strode  down  towards 


GENERAL  FISK'S  REMINISCENCES.  373 

the  pulpit.  I  followed,  for  I  was  anxious  to  hear  what  he 
would  say.  Taking  the  bishop  warmly  by  the  hand,  he  ex- 
claimed, in  a  voice  that  could  be  heard  all  around,  '  Bishop 
Simpson,  that  was  a  splendid  lecture !'  Then,  in  a  low  tone 
of  voice,  and  with  an  expression  of  face  which  indicated  a 
little  surprise,  a  little  curiosity,  and  a  good  deal  of  humor, 
he  said,  '  But  you  didn't  strike  the  ile !'  I  did  not  see  the 
point,  but  the  bishop  did.  So  he  replied, « Mr.  President,  I 
am  surprised  at  myself  to  see  that,  while  I  have  thought 
so  much  about  the  great  resources  of  our  country,  I  should 
have  entirely  overlooked  our  great  oil  interests.  I  shall  not 
do  so  again.'  The  next  time  I  heard  the  lecture  the  bishop 
struck  '  the  ile.'  " 

From  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  one  of  the  bishop's  most 
intimate  personal  friends,  I  have  this  narrative  : 

"  In  April,  1861,  after  the  call  for  seventy-five  thousand 
men,  the  bishop  met  Lincoln  in  the  president's  office.  Sev- 
eral members  of  the  cabinet  dropped  in,  Bates,  Blair,  Cam- 
eron, and  Seward.  The  bishop  expressed  the  opinion  that 
seventy-five  thousand  men  were  but  a  beginning  of  the  num- 
ber needed ;  that  the  struggle  would  be  long  and  severe. 
Mr.  Seward  asked  what  opportunity  a  clergyman  could  have 
to  judge  of  such  affairs  as  these.  Judge  Bates  replied  that 
few  men  knew  so  much  of  the  temper  of  the  people  as 
Bishop  Simpson ;  Montgomery  Blair  sustained  the  view  of 
Judge  Bates.  A  cabinet  meeting  followed.  After  it  was 
over  Lincoln  and  Simpson  remained  together  quite  a  long 
time.  The  bishop  gave  him,  in  detail,  his  opinion  of  men 
throughout  the  country  whom  he  knew. 

"  After  Mr.  Stanton  came  into  the  cabinet  the  bishop's  rela- 
tions with  the  president  became  more  intimate.  The  bishop 
was  used  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to  modify  the  War  Secretary's 
views,  and  to  gain  points  which  he  wished  to  reach.  For 
instance  :  Stanton  was  disposed  to  treat  with  great  severity 
the  border  rebels  who  stayed  at  home  and  gave  aid  and 
comfort  to  the  enemy.     Lincoln  was  inclined  to  treat  them 


374  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSOX. 

leniently.  The  bishop  was  of  the  same  mind  as  the  presi- 
dent, and  was  sent  to  Stanton  to  bring  him  over  to  the 
president's  way  of  thinking. 

"Early  in  1SG2  Mr.  Lincoln  was  meditating  the  issuing  of 
an  emancipation  proclamation,  though,  in  answer  to  public 
appeals,  he  declined  to  take  the  responsibility  of  such  a 
measure.  Bishop  Simpson  had  said  to  him,  as  far  back  as 
1861,  that  that  would  need  to  be  done.  lie  believed  from 
the  first  that  emancipation  would  come  out  of  the  war.  In 
discussing  Fremont's  proclamation,  he  said  he  would  have 
done  the  same  thing.* 

"  In  the  summer  of  this  same  year — 1862 — after  the  seven 
days'  fighting  and  McClellan's  repulse,  the  bishop  had  an- 
other interview  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  confined  to  the  point  of 
the  president's  duty  to  issue  a  proclamation  setting  the 
slaves  free  in  the  rebellious  states.  Subsequently  Mr.  Lin- 
coln showed  him  the  proclamation ;  the  bishop  was  de- 
lighted with  it.  "When  it  was  read  in  the  cabinet  meet- 
ing  Mr.  Chase  suggested  its  last  sentence.  '  Why,'  replied 
Lincoln,  '  that  is  just  what  Bishop  Simpson  said.'  In  their 
interview  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  cabinet  the  bishop 
had  suggested  that  there  ought  to  be  a  recognition  of  God 
in  that  important  paper." 

The  Kev.  Dr.  John  Lanahan,  during  the  war  a  resident  of 
Alexandria  and  Washington,  was  in  close  correspondence 
with  Bishop  Simpson,  and  sends  these  reminiscences  : 

"  I  received  many  letters  from  Bishop  Simpson  about 
government  matters  and  the  churches,  none  of  which  I  can 
now  find.  I  was  often  with  him  in  his  visits  to,  and  inter- 
views with,  the  leading  men  of  the  country  in  "Washington, 
and  often  received  from  him  the  substance  of  his  conversa- 
tions about  public  matters  when  I  was  not  present.     Mr. 

*  General  Fremont,  in  August,  1861,  issued  an  order  emancipating  the 
slaves  of  all  persons  in  arms  against  the  government  throughout  his  dis- 
trict, the  Western.  This  order  was  annulled  by  the  president,  and  FrS- 
mont  was  relieved  of  his  command. 


DR.  LANAHANS  REMINISCENCES.  375 

Lincoln  held  him  in  the  highest  esteem,  and  attached  much 
importance  to  his  counsel.  He  never  failed  to  attend  upon 
his  ministry.  The  same  is  true  of  Mr.  Stanton  ;  he  not 
only  manifested  great  respect,  but  even  love ;  he  was  inva- 
riably present  to  hear  the  bishop  preach.  At  one  time 
during,  and  I  think  near  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  Stanton  wanted  him  to  serve  as  one  of  an  important 
commission,  which  he  declined  as  not  the  best  for  him  as  a 
bishop  of  the  Church.  I  only  remember  the  fact,  but  can- 
not recall  the  subject. 

"  Bishop  Simpson's  arrival  in  Washington  was  always  the 
occasion  of  interest  and  courtesies  from  the  chief  men  of 
the  government  and  of  Congress.  I  was  often  surprised  to 
see  how  quickly  his  arrival  was  known.  During  my  resi- 
dence of  some  fifteen  years  in  "Washington  I  have  known  of 
very  few  who  received  more  attention  and  manifestations 
of  respect  from  leading  men.  But  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr. 
Stanton  took  him  to  their  bosoms.  Mr.  Stanton,  you  know, 
was  not  a  man  to  be  free  and  eas}'"  with  many  persons — 
with  very  few  indeed.  In  one  matter  Bishop  Simpson  was 
very  peculiar.  When  in  AYashington  he  always  asked  how 
'  our  people '  were  being  treated  by  the  government.  They 
had  not  been  dealt  fairly  with  immediately  prior  to  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's day,  and  he  was  ready  to  lend  an  ear  to  such  as  were 
in  trouble  and  needed  help,  it  mattered  not  how  humble 
the  person.  He  was  a  man  of  unusual  sympathy,  and, 
while  receiving  attentions  from  the  great,  never  forgot  the 
lowly. 

"  In  the  midst  of  the  hurry  and  rush  of  the  affairs  of  the 
War  Department,  Mr.  Stanton  always  gave  the  bishop  will- 
ing and  deferential  attention.  That  I  saw  when  with  the 
bishop  ;  many  interviews  were  had  when  I  was  not  present. 
I  never  was  present  when  they  conversed  specifically  about 
'public  affairs,'  but  have  no  doubt,  from  my  conversations 
with  the  bishop,  that  such  talk  was  had. 

"  I  know  not  that  Lincoln  consulted  the  bishop  upon  the 


376  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

emancipation  of  the  slaves.  Leading  Kepublicans  were  much 
dissatisfied  with  Lincoln's  apparent  slowness  to  proclaim 
emancipation,  and  among  them  was  Bishop  Simpson.  Dr. 
Morgan  just  now  told  me  that  Moncure  D.  Conway  went 
from  his  (M.'s)  house  to  see  Lincoln  and  urged  emancipation 
upon  him  just  after  the  Bull  Kun  defeat.  Lincoln  said, '  Go 
and  educate  the  people  up  to  it,  and  I  will  issue  the  procla- 
mation.' I  don't  think  Simpson  ever  urged  upon  Lincoln 
such  a  proclamation,  although  he  desired  it.  I  judge  they 
must  have  talked  about  it.  Lincoln  seems  to  have  kept  his 
views  on  that  subject  to  himself,  largely,  till  he  reached  his 
ultimate  conclusion." 

These  reminiscences,  although  given  after  the  lapse  of  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  confirm  each  other  on  the  point  of  the 
close  personal  relations  existing  between  the  president  and 
the  hishop.  It  has,  however,  become  clear  to  us  of  the 
present  time  that  Mr.  Lincoln's  mind  acted  with  unusual 
independence.  He  delighted,  as  he  himself  expressed  it,  in 
"  an  opinion  bath,"  which  saturated  him  with  the  thoughts 
on  public  affairs  of  all  manner  of  men.  With  a  few  he  was, 
as  with  Bishop  Simpson,  unreserved,  and  listened  to  them 
with  entire  respect  for  their  knowledge  of  affairs.  ^  Per- 
haps, too,  in  weighing  the  considerations  for  determining 
the  time  of  doing  what  he  saw  he  must  ultimately  do,  he 
had  in  mind  the  effect  of  his  proclaiming  the  emancipation 
of  slaves  upon  the  partly  loyal  border  states.  He  was  in 
the  forepart  of  1862  advising  these  states  to  accept  a  scheme 
of  gradual  abolition,  with  payment  to  loyal  owners  of  the 
value  of  their  slaves.  Congress  also  appropriated  $600,000 
for  colonizing"  such  of  the  slaves  thus  set  free  as  wished  to 
migrate  to  other  lands.  This  measure  failed.  September 
28,  1862,  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  his  declaration  of  purpose  to 
set  free,  on  January  1,  1863,  all  slaves  in  rebellious  states, 
if  by  that  time  the  states  were  still  in  arms  against  the 
national  government. 

But  the  war  was  growing  to  greater  and  greater  propor- 


THE  EVANGELIST  OF  PATRIOTISM.  377 

tions.  It  is  difficult  to  convey  to  the  minds  of  the  Amer- 
icans who  have  come  to  manhood  since  1865  the  apprehen- 
sion, universally  felt,  that  the  struggle,  if  carried  on  beyond 
a  year  or  two,  would  exhaust  our  resources.  The  people, 
though  loyally  calling  upon  Congress  to  increase  taxation, 
felt  the  weight  of  their  ever-increasing  burdens.  A  debt 
was  accumulating  beyond  all  precedent,  for  the  rapidity  of 
its  growth,  in  the  experience  of  nations.  Trade  was  for  a 
time  depressed ;  values  were  uncertain ;  the  best  blood  of 
the  country  was  flowing  freely.  Still  the  cry  came  from 
Washington,  more  men,  more  money,  more  help,  in  this  hour 
of  supreme  trial,  from  the  people. 

In  1802  I  attended,  by  the  invitation  of  a  friend,  a  private 
meeting  of  loyal  men  in  the  city  of  New  York  —  editors, 
lawyers,  clergymen,  and  two  generals :  Hunter  and  Mitchell 
— called  to  consider  the  question,  "  What  should  be  done  in 
case  the  Confederate  army  should  at  that  time  capture 
Washington."  Much  later  on  in  the  war  Mr.  Greeley  pub- 
licly advised  the  president  to  continue  the  struggle  ninety 
days  more,  and  if  the  rebellion  was  not  then  suppressed,  to 
make  peace  on  the  best  terms  possible.  "  Ninety  days  !" 
said  Grant,  when  he  heard  of  this,  "  he  should  have  made 
it  ninety  years,"  and  went  on  with  his  fighting.  Unques- 
tionably the  despondency  of  thousands  of  our  best  citizens 
was  real,  and  its  paralyzing  effects  could  be  sensibly  felt. 
It  was  in  this  juncture  that  men  of  the  stamp  of  Bishop 
Simpson  were  indispensable,  to  rally  hope,  to  sustain  faith, 
to  point  out  to  us  that  we  had  ample  strength  for  our  clay 
and  trial.  He  was  not  the  only  public  man  who  did  this 
service,  but  he  did  it  more  eloquently,  more  effectually 
than  any  other.  He  became  for  us  the  evangelist  of  patri- 
otism, having  the  whole  land  for  his  field  and  pleading  for 
the  loyal  cause  with  such  power  that  where  despair  had 
reigned,  he  left  hope  and  confidence  in  God.  He  travelled 
from  city  to  city,  from  town  to  town,  from  East  to  West, 
and  from  West  to  East  again,  till  he  had  wrought  the  people 


378  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

up  to  the  tension  of  his  own  enthusiasm.  It  is  as  impossible 
to  explain  the  power  of  these  addresses  analytically  as  it 
would  be  for  a  spectator  to  analyze  a  whirlwind,  for  they 
swept  like  a  whirlwind  over  the  hearts  of  their  hearers. 
Men  clenched  their  hands,  shouted,  stamped,  stood  on  their 
feet,  and  were  left  at  the  end  in  a  tumult  of  patriotic  ex- 
citement. Its  peroration  was  usually  an  apostrophe  to  the 
old  flag,  which,  with  consummate  art,  he  grasped  in  his  hand 
and  held  up  to  view.  As  a  specimen  of  the  effect  of  its  deliv- 
ery, we  take  the  following  from  an  Ohio  Methodist  minister : 

"  It  is  said  that  Bishop  Simpson's  speech  on  '  The  State  of 
the  Country,'  delivered  in  Walnut  Street  Church,  Chilli- 
cothe,  at  the  reunion  of  the  Ohio  and  Cincinnati  Confer- 
ences, was  one  of  the  greatest  of  his  life,  and  certainly  the 
surrounding  circumstances  did  much  to  give  it  interest. 
The  war  was  raging ;  the  whole  country  was  in  a  white 
heat  of  excitement.  Two  large  Conferences  and  many  citi- 
zens were  before  him.  Many  of  them  had  near  relatives  in 
the  army,  or  in  prison  or  hospital.  No  pen  can  adequately 
describe  the  speech ;  no  person  present  can  ever  forget  it. 
If  some  Daguerre  could  have  taken  the  likenesses  of  the  audi- 
ence showing  their  attitude,  faces,  hands,  and  feet,  it  would 
have  been  a  very  ludicrous  picture,  for  such  was  the  power 
of  the  bishop's  logic  and  eloquence  that  his  hearers  seemed 
to  be  wholly  unconscious  of  themselves.  Ladies  threw  away 
their  fans  and  handkerchiefs ;  men  threw  their  hats  in  the 
air,  stood  erect,  and  mounted  the  seats,  and  stretched  out 
their  necks  and  their  hands.  When  the  bishop  closed,  it 
was  as  if  a  great  storm  at  sea  had  suddenly  ceased,  but 
leaving  the  billows  still  in  commotion — requiring  some  time 
for  them  to  settle  down  to  quiet. 

"  The  large  and  imposing  form  of  Rev.  Win.  Simmons, 
of  the  Cincinnati  Conference,  was  seen  rising;  he  had  a 
written  resolution  to  offer.  On  the  other  side  of  the  house 
was  the  tall  figure  of  Granville  Moody,  with  the  quicksilver 
up.     Both  were  trying  to  be  heard.     Being  pastor  of  the 


IN  THE  ACADEMY  OF  MUSIC,  NEW  YORK.  379 

church  at  the  time,  I  was  endeavoring  to  give  an  important 
notice  of  an  arrangement  for  dining  the  Cincinnati  preach- 
ers. Great  preparations  had  been  made  by  the  good  people 
of  the  city,  who  are  so  noted  for  their  hospitality.  But 
such  was  the  wild  excitement  that  it  was  impossible  to  be 
heard,  and  I  had  the  disappointment  of  seeing  the  great 
congregation  slowly  move  out  without  knowing  that  enter- 
tainment had  been  provided  for  them.  I  well  remember, 
in  the  midst  of  the  scene,  to  have  heard  Moody,  just  behind 
me,  say, '  Never  mind,  Simmons.'  Many  a  grand  dinner  had 
no  eaters  that  da}7-." 

One  of  the  most  important  occasions  of  the  delivery  of 
this  war  speech  was  Nov.  3, 1864,  in  the  Academy  of  Mu- 
sic, New  York  city.  The  presidential  election  was  but  a 
few  days  off,*  Lincoln  and  McClellan  being  the  candidates. 
Of  the  mass  of  people  assembled  the  Tribune  of  November 
7th  says :  "  Such  an  audience  gathered  at  the  Academy  of 
Music  as  seldom  or  never  before  was  crowded  within  its 
walls.  Long  before  the  time  announced  for  the  lecture  to 
commence  the  spacious  building  was  crowded  from  pit  to 
dome  —  the  seats  were  soon  filled,  the  standing-room  all 
taken  up,  and  still  the  crowd  poured  in  till  no  more  room 
was  left  in  which  to  squeeze  another  person." 

"With  much  tact  the  bishop  began  by  saying  that  he  did 
not  appear  there  as  a  partisan.  "  I  would  stand,"  he  said, 
"  far  above  all  party ;  I  have  no  epithets  for  any  of  my  fel- 
low-citizens." As  it  was  his  purpose  to  give  his  discourse  a 
firm  body  of  logic,  he  outlined  four  possible  issues  of  the 
war.  "First:  It  is  a  possible  result  of  this  conflict  that  we 
may  become  a  prey  to  some  foreign  powers  and  be  reduced 

*  The  delivery  of  the  address  immediately  before  the  presidential  elec- 
tion was  purposely  so  arranged.  Mr.  Mark'Hoyt,  who  had  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  meeting  in  charge,  writes  to  him :  "  All  your  friends  agree 
that  you  should  speak  before  the  election.  Speaking  at  that  time,  with 
the  full  report,  promised,  in  the  Tribune,  Times,  Herald,  and  Evening 
Post,  is  equivalent  to  speaking  to  the  nation." 


380  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

under  their  control.  There  is  a  second  possible  result  of 
this  contest :  that  the  nation  may  be  divided  into  two  or 
more  separate  confederacies.  There  is  a  third  possible  is- 
sue :  that  the  nation  may  remain  united,  but  with  its  pres- 
ent institutions  overthrown,  and  Southern  institutions  and 
Southern  ideas  established.  The  fourth  and  last  possible 
issue  is  that  our  nation,  having  passed  through  this  fiery 
ordeal,  may  come  out  of  it  purer,  stronger,  and  more  glori- 
ous than  ever  before.  At  this  point  I  will  simply  say  that 
I  believe  it  to  be  the  design  of  Providence  to  secure  the 
last  result."  Taking  up  the  first  topic,  he  proceeded  to  say : 
"  No  great  nation  has,  in  all  history,  risen  and  fallen  in  a 
single  century.  [Illustrated  by  examples.]  Moreover,  there 
are  indications  to  show  that  this  is  destined  to  be  a  great 
nation  in  the  earth.  The  discovery  of  America  by  Colum- 
bus, at  the  time  thereof,  was  opportune.  This  nation  has 
done  more  than  any  other  to  fulfil  a  great  destiny.  One 
thing  it  has  done  towards  the  accomplishment  of  its  work 
is  the  education  of  the  masses.  In  this  land  all  may  rise  to 
the  highest  offices.  The  humblest  cabin-boy  may  lead  our 
armies,  and  the  poor  hostler  may  sit  in  the  Senate.  Who 
has  not  heard  of  Henry  Clay,  the  Mill-boy  of  the  Slashes, 
and  Jackson,  the  child  of  poor  Irish  parents ;  and  some 
may  have  heard  that  even  a  rail-splitter  may  become  presi- 
dent. [Applause.]  Again,  this  nation  is  an  asylum  for  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  There  is  no  large  migration  to 
any  other  land,  but  men  come  here  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  I  have  no  feeling  of  sympathy  with  any  person 
who  will  seek  to  exclude  from  free  national  association  all 
who  may  come.  We  have  broad  acres  for  them  to  culti- 
vate, schools  for  their  children  and  churches  for  themselves, 
and  a  Constitution  broad  enough,  thank  God !  and  strong 
enough  for  all  the  world  to  stand  upon.  This  nation  has 
the  sympathy  of  the  masses  all  over  the  earth,  and  if  the 
world  is  to  be  raised  to  its  proper  place,  I  would  say  it  with 
all  reverence,  God  cannot  do  without  America. 


THE  POSSIBLE  ISSUES  OF  THE  WAR.  331 

"Then  comes  the  second  question— Shall  the  nation  be 
divided  ?  If  we  divide,  where  shall  we  divide  ?  We  have 
no  mountain-chains,  no  great  natural  landmarks,  to  separate 
us  into  two,  and  if  we  divide  must  it  not  be  into  several 
confederacies?  If  you  allow  the  South  to  go,  then  the 
Northwest  will  become  a  separate  confederacy ;  and  when 
the  Northwest  undertakes  that,  the  people  of  the  Pacific 
coast  will  set  up  for  themselves,  and  you  will  lose  all  that 
gold-bearing  country.  I  tell  you  here  to-day,  I  would  not 
give  one  cent  on  the  dollar  for  your  national  liabilities  if 
you  allow  a  single  dividing  line  to  be  run  through  your 
country  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  [Applause.]  I 
deprecate  war,  it  is  terrible ;  much  of  the  best  blood  of 
the  nation  has  flowed,  and  more,  possibly,  will  moisten  the 
earth ;  but  if  we  should  divide  this  land  into  petty  sections, 
there  will  come  greater  strife,  which  will  waste  the  blood 
of  your  children  and  grandchildren,  and  there  will  be  sor- 
row and  wailing  throughout  the  generations  to  come. 
When  I  look  at  this  dark  picture,  much  as  I  dislike  war,  I 
yet  say,  better  now  fight  for  twenty  years  and  have  peace 
than  stop  where  we  are.  [Tremendous  applause.]  If  any 
peace  is  had,  I  want  a  peace  which  shall  be  lasting,  so  that 
I  can  leave  my  wife  and  children  safe  when  I  die,  and  that 
can  only  be  by  our  remaining  a  united  nation.  We  have 
glorious  boundaries  on  the  north  and  the  south,  on  the  east 
and  the  west,  and  when  I  look  at  those  boundaries  I  say : 
'  Palsied  be  the  hand  which  shall  try  to  wrest  from  us  one 
foot  of  this  great  domain.'     [Applause.] 

"Then  the  question  comes,  'Shall  our  form  of  govern- 
ment be  changed?'  This  is  what  Mr.  Davis  expects;  he 
can  hardly  suppose  the  South  will  live  in  separation.  They 
at  the  South  expected  that  this  great  city  would  declare  it- 
self independent ;  but  this  city  has  a  heart  that  throbs  in 
sympathy  with  the  nation,  and  stands  out,  as  it  ought,  as  the 
national  metropolis.  The  South  hopes  for  a  monarchy,  but 
this  nation  will  never  tolerate  a  monarchy. 


3S2  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"  If  these  three  results  are  not  likely  to  happen,  then  shall 
we,  as  a  people,  emerge  from  this  contest  purer  and  more 
glorious  than  before.  The  nation  must  be  purified,  and  for 
that  we  are  going  through  the  war.  The  war  is  nothing 
new ;  the  South  has  been  preparing  for  it  for  thirty  years. 
At  the  same  time  a  series  of  providences  has  appeared, 
which  shows  the  hand  of  God."  (The  bishop  here  gave  a 
review  of  the  timely  discovery  of  fresh  resources  for  the  in- 
crease of  national  wealth,  and  dwelt  on  the  incidents  of  the 
war  which  appeared  to  him  to  have  a  Providential  meaning. 
A  high  tribute  was  paid  to  Grant  and  his  tenacity  of  pur- 
pose.    He  then  turned  his  attention  to  slavery.) 

"  I  have  one  more  impression,  that  if  this  war  lasts  much 
longer  slavery  will  be  damaged.  [Loud  applause.]  It  is 
seriously  damaged  now,  and  I  hope  and  desire  that  it  may 
pass  away  quickly  and  let  us  see  the  last  of  it.  [Loud  ap- 
plause.] Do  you  ask  what  has  been  accomplished?  The 
District  of  Columbia  has  been  made  free  [Applause],  and 
this  week— on  last  Tuesday — the  sun,  as  it  rose,  shone  for 
the  first  time  on  the  glorious  free  State  of  Maryland. 
[Great  applause.]  West  Virginia,  from  her  mountain  home, 
echoes  back  the  shouts  of  freedom.  But  this  war  ought 
not  to  be  carried  on  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  slavery, 
or  for  any  other  than  the  single  purpose  of  restoring  the 
authority  of  our  government.  But  if,  while  we  are  strik- 
ing blows  at  the  rebellion,  Slavery  will  come  and  put  its 
black  head  between  us  and  the  rebels,  then  let  it  perish 
along  with  them.  [Applause.]  Our  children  can  look  back 
to  the  battles  of  the  Revolution  and  assure  themselves  that 
their  fathers  were  worthy  of  freedom.  Let  the  children  of 
these  poor  slaves  have  the  chance  to  look  back  not  only  to 
Fort  Pillow,  but  to  battles  fought  and  won  in  front  of 
Petersburg  and  Richmond,  and  they  will  feel  that  they, 
too,  are  worthy  of  freedom.  It  has  been  demonstrated  in 
this  war  that  a  blue  coat  can  make  a  hero  even  of  a  sable 
skin.     The  black  men  have  Ions'  ago  learned  to  follow  the 


"TILE  OLD  FLAG."  383 

stars ;  they  have  followed  the  North  Star  successfully,  and 
now  it  is  shown  that  they  can  follow,  as  well  as  any 
others,  the  stars  that  are  set  in  our  glorious  flag.  [Loud 
applause.] 

"  Your  Fifty-fifth  Regiment  carried  this  flag  [taking  up  a 
war-worn,  shot-riddled  flag,  which  was  greeted  with  tremen- 
dous cheers] ;  it  has  been  at  Newbern,  and  at  South  Moun- 
tain, and  at  Antietam.  The  blood  of  our  brave  boys  is 
upon  it ;  the  bullets  of  rebels  have  gone  through  and  through 
it ;  yet  it  is  the  same  old  flag.  [Most  enthusiastic  applause, 
the  audience  rising  and  giving  three  rousing  cheers.]  Our 
fathers  followed  that  flag ;  we  expect  that  our  children  and 
our  children's  children  will  follow  it ;  there  is  nothing  on 
earth  like  that  old  flag  for  beauty.  [Long  and  loud  cheer- 
ing.] Long  may  those  stars  shine !  Just  now  there  are 
clouds  upon  it  and  mists  gathering  around  it,  but  the  stars 
are  coming  out,  and  others  are  joining  them.  And  they 
grow  brighter  and  brighter,  and  so  may  they  shine  till  the 
last  star  in  the  heavens  shall  fall!  [Great  cheering  and 
waving  of  handkerchiefs  and  hurrahing.]" 

Such  is  a  meagre  outline  of  an  address  which  usually  oc- 
cupied in  its  delivery  some  two  hours.  It  was  one  of  the 
stirring  events  of  the  time,  and  was  worth  to  the  nation 
thousands  of  men.  Its  sublime  trust  in  Divine  Providence 
was  a  part  of  Bishop  Simpson's  religion,  and  he  infused 
a  large  measure  of  his  own  faith  into  the  hearts  of  all 
who  heard  him.  There  is  not,  however,  a  written  line  of 
the  address  among  his  papers,  and  this  lack  makes  us 
dependent  on  hurriedly  written  reports,  none  of  which 
give  more  than  broken  fragments  of  it.  Its  intensity  re- 
flects the  spirit  of  the  loyal  citizens,  especially  at  the  precise 
moment  of  its  delivery.  It  was  feared  that  a  verdict  against 
Mr.  Lincoln's  administration  might  be  given  by  a  disheart- 
ened people ;  for  the  first  time,  too,  an  election  for  a  presi- 
dent was  to  be  held  during  a  civil  war ;  could  it  be  orderly 
and  in  exact  conformity  to  the  requirements  of  the  law? 


384  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

In  that  trying  hour  the  men  of  lofty  faith  became  the  true 
leaders  of  the  nation,  and  Bishop  Simpson  was  one  of  them. 
He  fully  realized  Mr.  Webster's  ideal  of  a  great-souled  citi- 
zen in  the  midst  of  a  national  crisis :  "  Then  self-devotion  is 
eloquent;  the  clear  perception  outrunning  the  deductions 
of  logic,  the  high  purpose,  the  firm  resolve,  the  dauntless 
spirit,  this,  this  is  eloquence ;  or,  rather,  it  is  something 
more  than  all  eloquence :  it  is  action,  noble,  sublime,  godlike 
action."  Had  it  been  possible  for  Mr.  Webster  to  take  the 
bishop  for  his  original,  the  likeness  could  not  be  more  exact. 

But  it  is  time  to  return  to  the  events  of  the  war  period  in 
their  order,  as  far  as  Bishop  Simpson  was  connected  with 
them.  Instead  of  going  to  California  in  1861,  as  he  had 
intended,  he  gave  his  time  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Missionary  Society,  whose  collections  of  money  were  im- 
perilled by  the  unsettled  condition  of  public  affairs.  In 
1862  the  trip  to  California  and  Oregon  was  undertaken, 
and  consumed  nearly  six  months.  As  usual,  he  was  half 
homesick  while  abroad,  and  counted  the  days  which  must 
elapse  before  he  could  return.  Only  three  weeks  of  the 
twenty-two  gone,"  he  wrote  back,  while  he  was  yet  on 
shipboard,  but  nearing  his  destination.  The  trip  to  Ore- 
gon was  made  from  San  Francisco  by  sea,  but  the  re- 
turn to  California  by  land,  the  bishop  using  saddle  or 
private  vehicle  or  stage  as  he  found  it  most  convenient. 

He  came  over  the  plains  eastward  by  stage,  tarrying  at 
Carson  City,  Nevada,  Denver,  and  other  points.  So  much 
was  he  disabled  during  this  long  journey  that  he  could  preach 
but  once  a  day.  Occasionally  his  tone  in  his  letters  is  de- 
spondent. Thus  he  writes  to  his  wife  :  "  Sometimes  I  have 
visions  of  years  of  usefulness ;  and  then  a  shade  comes  over 
me,  and  I  feel  as  if  my  work  were  about  done,  and  that 
you  ought  to  select  the  home  where  you  will  be  happiest, 
should  I  not  be  with  you."  At  Carson  City  he  notices  the 
utter  extinction  of  religious  life  in  many  who  had  been 
trained  in  Christian  homes.     "  I  preached,"  he  says,  "  on 


SIX  O'CLOCK  MORNING  LECTURES.  335 

Sabbath  to  a  crowded  house,  and  the  tears  moistened  the 
eyes  of  many  a  strong  man.  In  the  evening  I  received  a 
pressing  invitation,  signed  by  a  large  number  of  leading  cit- 
izens, requesting  me  to  remain  and  preach  again  on  Tues- 
day evening;  but  my  health  and  other  duties  did  not  per- 
mit." Despite  his  weak  condition  his  old  love  of  enterprise 
and  adventure  still  possesses  him.  He  writes  from  Oregon  to 
Mrs.  Simpson :  "  How  greatly  I  miss  you !  Were  you  here 
I  should  be  willing,  if  our  family  could  be  comfortable,  to 
remain  some  time  upon  the  coast,  or,  what  would  please  me 
more,  take  a  trip  to  China  and  India.  Men  are  goino-  con- 
stantly as  merchants,  sailors,  and  soldiers— why  not  as  min- 
isters ?" 

In  January,  1863,  the  government  expressed  its  confidence 
in  him  by  asking  him  to  perform  an  important  service. 
"  Secretary  Stanton,"  he  writes  to  his  wife,  "  sent  for  me, 
was  about  telegraphing,  wishing  me  to  be  chairman  of  a 
commission  to  visit  Fortress  Monroe,  Newbern,  Port  Eoyal, 
and  New  Orleans,  to  examine  the  condition  of  the  colored 
people  and  make  suggestions.  He  wanted  three  public  men 
apart  from  politics.  He  offered  transport,  subsistence,  a 
clerk,  and  fair  compensation.  I  have,  however,  declined  any 
such  position.  Called  on  Mr.  Lincoln  this  morning ;  very 
friendly." 

After  his  return  home  he  drove  his  work  forward  again, 
taxing  his  strength  to  the  last  point  of  endurance.  °  He 
writes  from  Ashtabula,  Ohio,  July  20,  1S63:  "The  labors 
of  the  Sabbath  are  over,  and  I  have  not,  as  I  believe,  sus- 
tained any  particular  injury.  W e  had  an  immense  con- 
course, and  preaching  was  in  an  orchard.  I  have  been  very 
busy,  as  I  try  to  talk  a  little  in  the  morning  to  the  young 
men ;  but  the  old  men  and  the  women  also  attend,  and  the 
large  church  is  nearly  full  at  six  o'clock.  Whether  any 
good  will  be  done  I  cannot  say."  These  morning  "  talks  " 
to  young  ministers  were,  in  fact,  carefully  outlined  lectures 
on  homiletics.  He  continued  this  practice  for  some  time 
25 


3S6  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

at  his  Conferences,  always  meeting  the  young  men  before 
the  morning  breakfast-hour.  It  is  not  surprising  that  there 
came  of  all  this  a  temporary  collapse  of  health.  He  writes 
to  his  son  from  Jackson,  Michigan,  in  September  of  this 
year :  "  I  was  seized  with  a  bilious  attack  on  my  way  to  the 
Detroit  Conference ;  chills  and  fever  set  in.  I  was  pros- 
trated from  Friday  till  Tuesday,  but  I  had  kind  friends  who 
watched  me  night  and  day,  and  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
raise  me  up.  On  Wednesday  I  had  a  bed  put  in  a  stage, 
and  rode  eighteen  miles  to  a  railroad ;  thence,  by  train,  to 
this  place.  Yesterday  I  presided  part  of  the  forenoon,  and 
to-day  the  whole  of  it."  Though  enfeebled  he  attended  his 
Conferences,  and  was  moving  on  at  full  speed.  October  22d  he 
wrote  again  to  his  son  :  "  I  dedicate  a  church  at  Kittaning, 
Pennsylvania,  to-morrow,  and  start  for  Evanston,  Illinois, 
where  I  preach  on  Sunday  at  the  Biblical  Institute  Com- 
mencement. On  Tuesday  I  dedicate  a  church  at  Niles, 
Michigan,  and  then  hasten  home  to  attend  the  bishops' 
meeting,  not  being  able  to  wait  for  commencement." 

He  was  beginning,  however,  to  think  more  than  before 
of  securing  a  home  of  his  own,  and,  if  possible,  east  of  the 
Alleghanies.  There  was  in  his  mind  a  strong  persuasion 
that  the  climate  of  the  West  did  not  agree  with  him.  He 
was  invited  to  Baltimore ;  to  Stamford,  Connecticut,  by  his 
friend  Oliver  Hoyt ;  and,  by  the  faculty  of  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, to  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  His  Chicago  and  Evanston 
friends  were  loth  to  lose  him.  Dr.  Evans  suggested  the  plan 
of  a  house  on  the  lake  shore,  and  urged  its  acceptance. 
Meeting  him  early  in  1863  at  the  home  of  Oliver  Hoyt,  and 
ascertaining,  from  his  conversation,  that  he  was  inclined  to 
settle  in  Baltimore,  I  urged  upon  him  the  greater  desirable- 
ness of  Philadelphia,  at  least  as  long  as  the  war  lasted. 
The  suggestion  of  Philadelphia  was  accepted,  and  a  house 
was  in  a  short  time  purchased  by  the  Methodist  laymen  of 
that  city,  and  presented  to  him.  His  friends  in  New  York 
claimed  for  themselves  the  privilege  of  furnishing  his  new 


PARTING   WITH  HIS   CHICAGO  FRIENDS.  387 

home.  The  change  of  dwelling-place  brought  him  nearer 
the  centre  of  national  affairs,  at  that  time  a  matter  of  prime 
importance,  and  gave  to  Philadelphia  one  of  its  most  emi- 
nent citizens.  That  he  was  beloved  and  revered  in  that 
city,  as  few  men  were,  goes  without  saying. 

The  parting  with  his  Evanston  and  Chicago  friends  was 
full  of  regrets  on  both  sides.  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  has 
furnished  me  with  a  very  pretty  picture  of  the  bishop's 
Evanston  life,  as  she  saw  it  in  her  early  days :  "  He  lived 
in  Evanston  when  I  was  a  school-girl  here,  and  among  all 
the  gifted  men  who  made  the  earlier  days  of  our  univer- 
sity so  brilliant  that  the  later  ones  can  only  hope  to  com- 
pete with,  but  not  excel  them,  he  was  chief.  In  the  heroic 
years  of  the  civil  war,  among  all  the  wonderful  experiences 
that  are  impressed  so  plainly  on  my  mind,  none  are  so  deeply 
stamped  as  the  prayers  of  Bishop  Simpson  in  our  plain  old 
church  among  the  trees.  When  the  Union  cause  seemed 
least  prosperous  the  bishop's  faith  was  strongest,  and  as  he 
prayed  for  the  success  of  our  armies  it  seemed  as  if  the 
presence  of  God  was  veritably  with  us.  He  is  one  of  the 
few  persons  I  ever  watched  during  prayer,  but  at  these 
times,  reverently  as  I  had  been  taught  to  bow  my  head,  it 
was  lifted  involuntarily,  not  out  of  curiosity,  but  from  the 
fascination  of  that  man's  face  while  he  talked  with  God. 
As  I  recall  it  now  there  was  at  such  times  something  in  his 
voice  as  well  as  in  his  words,  and  certainly  something  in 
his  presence,  that  approached  the  supernatural. 

"  When  he  went  to  California  all  of  our  young  people 
from  the  schools  marched  to  the  station  in  his  honor,  to 
wave  their  farewells,  and  when  he  returned  they  gathered 
under  his  window  and  sang  '  Home  again,  home  again,  from 
a  foreign  shore.'  His  speech  to  them  on  both  occasions 
was  like  that  of  a  father  to  his  children." 

Our  civil  war  began  at  a  period  when  the  utility  of  vol- 
untary efforts  for  the  relief  of  sick  and  wounded  soldiers 
was  fully  recognized  by  Christian  nations.     The  lessons  of 


3S8  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

the  Crimea  had  not  been  forgotten.  The  mortality  of  the 
British  soldiers,  in  camp  and  hospital,  from  1851  to  1856,  rose, 
at  one  time,  as  high  as  one  hundred  and  seventeen  per  cent, 
per  annum,  a  rate  rapid  enough  to  destroy  the  entire  army 
in  less  than  one  year.  The  change  wrought  by  the  well- 
directed  energy  of  Miss  Florence  Nightingale  and  her  com- 
pany of  trained  nurses  was  such  that  the  death  rate  in  the 
active  service  was  no  more  than  that  of  soldiers  in  comfort- 
able barracks  at  home.  The  thought,  so  the  testimony  runs, 
that  they  were  remembered  at  home,  quickened  the  energy 
of  the  soldiers,  helped  them  to  resist  the  attacks  of  disease, 
and  to  recover  when  stricken  down.* 

Our  army  was  an  army  of  citizens ;  it  was  emphatically 
the  people  in  military  array  and  engaged  in  military  service. 
The  farmers,  lawyers,  doctors,  merchants,  mechanics,  labor- 
ers, clerks,  and  men  of  letters  had  gone  to  the  front  to  help 
to  save  their  country.  Even  clergymen  marched  at  the  head 
of  regiments  recruited  by  their  eloquent  appeals.  A  people 
addicted  to  peace  devoted  themselves  four  years  to  the  study 
and  practice  of  war.  It  would  have  been  impossible  to  re- 
strain the  citizens  at  home  from  following,  with  their  love 
and  devotion,  their  fellow -citizens  in  the  field.  The  expe- 
rience of  England  in  the  Crimea  suggested,  directly  after 
the  call  of  Mr.  Lincoln  for  75,000  men,  the  idea  of  "A 
Nightingale  Band."  Before  a  blow  had  been  struck,  after 
the  fall  of  Sumter,  Ladies'  Aid  Associations  had  been  organ- 
ized in  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Out  of  these  grew  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  and  the  formation  of  the  Christian 
Commission  followed  in  November,  1861.  As  the  women 
of  the  country  had  originated  the  one,  so  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  had  originated  the  other.  In  the  year 
of  which  we  now  write — 1861 — we  were  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  desperate  part  of  our  struggle.     Gettysburg  had  then 

*  See  the  Introduction  to  the  "  Annals  of  the  Christian  Commission," 
by  the  Rev.  Lemuel  Moss,  pp.  42-61. 


THE  SPEECH  AT  TEE  SANITARY  FAIR.  389 

been  won ;  Yicksburg  had  been  taken ;  Grant  was  fighting 
in  the  Wilderness  of  Virginia,  and  our  best  blood  was  flow- 
ing freely.  A  battle  nearly  every  day,  with  indecisive  re- 
sults, was  sending  the  wounded  soldiers  in  thousands  to  the 
rear.  The  year  had  begun  with  the  holding  of  fairs,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  in  the  great  cities  East 
and  West — that  in  New  York  resulting  in  the  gathering  of 
over  a  million  of  dollars.  That  of  Philadelphia  was  to  have 
been  opened  with  an  address  from  President  Lincoln,  but, 
being  unable  to  attend,  he  requested  that  Bishop  Simpson 
take  his  place,  saying  that  there  was  no  other  man  in  the 
country  by  whom  he  would  prefer  to  be  represented.* 

The  speech  was  so  characteristic,  and  the  occasion  so  ex- 
traordinary, that  the  reader  will  relish  some  of  its  passages  : 

"  At  the  request  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  in  his  be- 
half, I  accept  from  the  honored  Executive  Committee  the  vast  treasures 
contained  in  these  buildings— the  generous  offerings  of  the  citizens  of 
New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Pennsylvania — to  be  dedicated,  in  the  name 
of  the  people,  to  the  use  of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  our  army  and  navy. 
No  one,  more  than  myself,  regrets  the  absence  of  our  honored  chief-mag- 
istrate. [Applause.]  The  noble  ends  in  view,  the  unparalleled  magnif- 
icence of  the  arrangements,  and  the  character  of  this  assemblage  combine 
to  form  an  occasion  worthy  of  his  presence.  Delighted  would  we  have 
been  to  hear  from  his  own  lips  the  expression  of  his  sympathy,  and  to 
catch  the  inspiration  of  his  heart,  which  swells  with  strong  confidence 
in  the  glorious  results  of  our  present  national  struggle.  [Applause.] 
But  he  could  not  be  with  us;  his  eye  was  upon  Richmond.  [Applause.] 
He  is  listening  for  tidings  from  our  brave  generals,  and  from  our  equally 

• 
*  Mr.  John  Welsh  thus  wrote  in  regard  to  the  president's  request :  "  Mr. 

Cresson,  Mr.  Cuyler,  and  myself,  a  few  minutes  since,  waited  upon  you  to 
communicate  to  you  a  wish,  expressed  in  writing  by  President  Lincoln, 
that  you  should  represent  him  at  the  opening  ceremonies  of  the  great 
Central  Fair,  on  Tuesday  next.  Finding  that  you  were  absent,  Mr.  G.  W. 
Childs,  one  of  our  Executive  Committee,  has  kindly  consented  to  be  the 
bearer  of  that  request,  which,  I  earnestly  trust,  it  may  afford  you  pleasure 
to  comply  with.  We  had  assigned  you  a  position  in  our  services,  but 
your  acquiescence  in  the  wish  of  President  Lincoln  will  render  it  un- 
necessary to  allude  to  it." 


390  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

brave  advancing  hosts.  He  is  waiting  to  furnish  such  aid  and  to  give 
such  orders  as  the  interests  of  the  hour  may  demand.  But  while  lie  is 
not  with  us,  he  is  of  us.  He  sympathizes  with  the  suffering  sailor  and 
soldier,  and  is  deeply  moved  by  their  distress ;  and  all  that  the  govern- 
ment could  do  to  assist  this  great  enterprise  he  has,  from  the  beginning, 
promptly  done  for  the  officers  of  the  Sanitary  Commission.     [Applause.] 

"  But  why  all  this  outpouring  of  treasure  ?  Why  this  universal  stirring 
of  the  national  heart  ?  We  are  in  the  midst  of  war — earnest,  terrible 
war;  war  with  a  people  of  the  same  race — with  our  former  brethren, 
who  have  breathed  the  same  air  of  freedom  ;  who  have  been  educated  iu 
the  same  schools  of  learning ;  who  have  been  inspired  by  the  noble  deeds 
of  the  same  ancestry.  But  the  leaders  of  the  South  have  torn  them  from 
us.  They  were  weary  of  our  constitutional  forms.  They  murmured  at, 
and  feared,  the  growing  spirit  of  freedom,  and  they  broke  the  bonds 
of  our  ancient  covenant.  They  seized  a  part  of  our  heritage,  and  have 
sought  to  found  a  government  whose  corner-stone  should  be  human 
slavery.  They  have  erected  their  altar  to  this  dark  Moloch,  and  verily 
they  have  made  their  sons  pass  through  a  terrible  fire  ;  and  more  victims 
have  been  laid  already  on  this  dark  altar  than  were  ever  sacrificed  on 
that  of  the  angry  deity  of  old. 

"  But  the  injury  stops  not  there.  The  friends  of  the  Union  have  risen, 
and  have  rushed  to  the  rescue.  The  farmer  has  left  his  plough,  the  me- 
chanic his  shop,  the  man  of  letters  his  desk,  and  the  merchant  his  office. 
The  noblest  of  young  men  have  been  foremost  in  the  thickest  of  the 
fight ;  and  though,  amid  the  smoke  and  carnage  of  battle,  some  of  the 
stars  have  been  dimmed,  and  some  of  the  stripes  have  been  torn,  yet  the 
star-spangled  banner  still  waves,  and  the  millions  rally  round  the  flag ! 
[Long-continued  and  deafening  applause.]  But,  alas!  how  many  brave 
men  have  fallen !  How  many  are  wounded !  To-day,  in  camp,  and  in 
hospital,  and  on  the  battle-field— perhaps  at  this  very  hour — multiplied 
thousands  of  husbands,  and  brothers,  and  sons  are  lying  among  the  sick 
and  helpless.  Shall  their  comrades  cease  from  the  strife  to  care  for  them, 
or  shall  other  hands,  less  able  and  less  skilled  in  war,  perform  these 
offices  of  kindness  ?  Shall  they  be  left  to  suffer  and  to  die  neglected, 
or  shall  every  attention  which  humanity  can  suggest  be  freely  given 
them  ?  This  question  you,  with  others,  are  answering  by  your  donations 
and  by  your  labors. 

"-This  land  of  ours  is  wonderful.  The  government  has  called  for  men, 
and  they  have  come  from  every  plain,  and  from  every  mountain,  and  from 
every  valley,  until  more  than  a  million  have  stood  in  martial  array.  And 
yet  our  crops  have  been  sown  and  gathered ;  the  sound  of  the  hammer 
is  heard  in  the  shop,  and  the  hum  of  machinery  in  the  factories.     Our 


ALL   THE  PEOPLE  HELPLNG.  391 

wharves  are  laden  with  goods;  our  trains  are  crowded  with  passengers; 
every  village  and  town  is  enlarging  its  limits ;  our  city  streets  are  full ; 
whole  blocks  are  added  to  our  buildings,  and  still  the  crowd  of  popula- 
tion cries  for  room.  Money  has  been  called  for,  and  though  the  govern- 
ment has  asked  hundreds  of  millions,  its  loans  have  all  been  eagerly 
taken.  We  have  been  taxed,  and  the  taxes  have  been  unmurmuringly 
paid.  And,  in  addition  to  all  this,  the  people  come  forward  with  their 
free  offerings  by  millions  to  aid  and  comfort  the  wounded  and  the  dying. 
[Applause.]  This  Sanitary  Commission  has  already  collected,  in  money 
and  values,  more  than  ten  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  Christian  Commis- 
sion has  also  received,  and  is  receiving,  large  sums  for  its  work.  Nor  are 
these  sums  merely  the  offerings  of  the  wealthy.  Many  of  them  have 
given  nobly.  But  the  poorest  vie  with  the  richest  in  devotion  to  this 
cause.  Families  of  narrow  means— the  laboring- man,  the  working-wom- 
an, teachers  and  children  in  our  schools,  artists  and  amateurs — all  have 
given  freely.  The  old  grandmother,  with  failing  eyes,  has  sat  up,  on  long 
winter  evenings,  busily  knitting  for  the  poor  soldier-boy,  and  the  little 
prattler  has  gathered  a  flower  to  add  to  your  collections  of  beauty.  All 
have  given,  for  all  have  felt.  All  have  friends  who  have  suffered  or  who 
may  suffer,  and  the  images  of  loved  ones  cheer  them  on.  God  has  touched 
every  heart.  He  has  written  a  lesson  which  the  ages  may  read,  that  great 
wrongs  must  terminate  in  great  catastrophes;  and  the  people  have  re- 
solved that,  cost  what  it  may,  the  system  which  could  not  live  within 
the  Constitution  shall  die  beyond  it.     [Applause.] 

"  I  remember,  when  I  was  travelling  on  the  Pacific  coast,  to  have  seen 
a  river  taken  from  its  bed,  half-way  up  the  mountain -sides,  and  its 
waters  distributed  all  over  the  hill-slopes  and  plains.  At  the  side  of 
every  rill  the  miner  stood,  and  gathered,  with  eager  care,  the  precious 
particles  of  gold.  That  same  river,  before  it  was  parted  thus,  had  been 
formed  by  hundreds  of  springs  from  near  the  mountain-tops.  So  it  is 
with  your  benevolent  agencies.  You  have  gathered  all  the  little  rills 
from  country  and  from  village,  until  they  have  swelled  into  a  deep,  broad 
stream.  Chicago  and  Baltimore,  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  St.  Louis 
and  Pittsburgh,  all  gathered  from  their  tributaries  and  combined  their 
vast  supplies.  Philadelphia  comes  last,  but  not  least.  Here  are  the 
gathering  rills  from  Delaware  and  from  New  Jersey,  and  from  the  moun- 
tain heights  of  Pennsylvania,  pouring  their  waters  into  this  great  reservoir. 
Here  they  shall  be  commingled  and  distributed  until  some  little  rill  shall 
flow  beside  every  sick  and  wounded  soldier  in  the  camp  and  hospital, 
and  returning  life  and  health  and  joy  shall  far  outweigh  all  the  golden 
sands  on  California's  coast.  And  who  that  remembers  the  scenes  of  a 
year  ago;  who  that  listened  for  the  step  of  the  invading  enemy;  who 


392  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

that  looked  for  the  devastating  fire  that  should  mark  his  pathway;  who 
that  held  his  breath  as  tidings  came,  hour  by  hour,  from  Gettysburg,  can 
wonder  that  Philadelphia  pours  out  her  treasures  for  those  brave  men 
who  stood  as  a  living  rampart  around  her  ?     [Much  applause.] 

"  While  much  of  the  credit  is  due  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  various  com- 
mittees, we  must  not  yet  forget  to  acknowledge  that  much  belongs  to 
the  ladies.  [Applause.]  And  yet  why  should  I  mention  this?  Who 
would  suppose  it  to  be  otherwise  ?  Who  here  will  deny  that  woman  is 
foremost  in  every  good  work  ?  For  woman  hath  a  nature  to  be  kind. 
She  is  full  of  sympathy  everywhere.  When,  with  ceaseless  care,  she 
plans  and  labors  for  the  poor  and  sufferiug;  when,  by  example  and  per- 
suasion, she  gathers  resources  from  every  quarter;  when,  as  I  have  seen 
her,  she  moves,  with  silent  step,  among  the  couches  of  the  sick  and  dying 
in  the  hospital,  giving  now  the  cordial,  and  now  the  word  of  comfort  and 
of  hope — it  is  then  she  becomes  in  her  mission  an  angel  of  mercy,  a  wor- 
thy sister  of  the  beloved  Mary  whom  angels  hailed.     [Applause.] 

"  As  we  turn  to  descry  the  signs  of  the  times,  I  think  I  can  see  the 
light  dawning  over  the  mountain-tops.  Our  resources  seem  yet  undimin- 
ished, while  the  resources  of  the  South  are  fast  becoming  exhausted.  Its 
borders  are  contracting,  its  vitality  is  declining,  while  with  us  new  fields 
of  wealth  are  ever  opening.  Our  vast  territories,  from  Arizona  to  Mon- 
tana, from  California  to  Colorado,  are  unveiling  their  mines  of  boundless 
wealth,  and  are  waiting  only  for  the  miner's  toil.  We  have  resources, 
too,  in  brave  men.  'Tis  true  that  many  of  them  sleep  in  the  dust.  Lyon 
and  Baker  and  Sedgwick  and  Wadsworth,  and  others,  rest  in  their  glory. 
But  we  have  heroes  still  living.  Sherman  is  just  now  showing,  from  his 
onward  career,  that  he  is  a  Northern  man  with  Southern  proclivities. 
[Cheers  and  laughter.]  We  have  a  Thomas  who  never  doubts.  [Cheers.] 
We  have  a  Hooker  who  pushes  his  forces  amid  the  clouds.  [Cheers.] 
New  England  has  given  us  her  Howard,  who,  one-armed,  is  still  within 
himself  a  host.  [Cheers.]  Pennsylvania  has  in  her  Hancock  a  tower  of 
strength  [cheers],  and  near  her  heart  she  bears  her  Meade  of  honor.  [Cheer 
upon  cheer.]  While  the  giant  West,  from  the  shores  of  her  broad  Mis- 
sissippi, sends  us  a  Grant  of  unconditional  victory  !  [Tremendous  out- 
bursts of  applause,  culminating  in  a  "three  times  three,"  given  with  full 
emphasis.]  Nor  are  the  seamen  less  brave.  A  gallant  Foote  has  ended 
his  labors,  and  peace  be  to  his  memory.  But  Porter,  Dupont,  and  Farra- 
gut  still  marshal  our  fleet.  [Cheers.]  Our  monitors  have  changed  naval 
warfare,  and  have  taught  the  world  the  value  of  hearts  of  oak  in  breasts 
of  iron. 

l>  And  now,  in  the  name  of  the  people  who  have  furnished  these  gener- 
ous gifts,  whose  sympathies  are  with  the  brave  men  in  the  field  and  on 


THE  PRESIDENT  AND  THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE.  393 

shipboard ;  in  the  name  of  the  people  who  ordained  that  Constitution 
under  which  we  live,  and  who  have  sworn  to  defend  and  uphold  it ;  in 
the  name  of  the  people  who  are  determined  to  live  or  die  under  the  stars 
and  stripes,  I  dedicate  these  treasures  and  their  proceeds  to  the  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers  and  sailors  of  our  army  and  navy — to  those  brave  men 
who  for  us  and  ours  have  perilled  their  lives,  and  driven  back  the  hosts 
of  the  enemy.  May  God,  in  his  infinite  mercy,  restore  them  to  health 
and  to  their  friends  and  to  their  country !  And  may  the  donors  realize 
that  'it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.'  [Amen  !  Amen  !  shout- 
ed the  audience.  Three  cheers  were  proposed  and  given  for  the  eloquent 
bishop,  as  he  sat  down.]" 

But  in  all  he  expressed  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of  free- 
dom, throughout  this  stirring  address,  Bishop  Simpson  but 
echoed  the  voice  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  General  Con- 
ference, which  had  adjourned  from  its  place  of  session  in 
Philadelphia,  only  a  few  clays  before  the  opening  of  this 
Sanitary  Fair.  In  maintaining  the  national  unity  he  kept 
no  more  than  equal  step  with  the  Church  of  which  he  was  a 
trusted  leader.  As  soon  as  it  assembled  in  the  Union  Church, 
of  Philadelphia,  the  Conference  ordered  the  national  flag  to 
be  raised  over  the  building ;  appointed  a  day  of  prayer  for 
the  deliverance  of  the  country,  and  observed  the  day  with 
impressive  services ;  named  a  committee  to  wait  upon  Pres- 
ident Lincoln,  and  to  carry  to  him  the  assurance  of  the  un- 
faltering support  of  loyal  Methodists.*  "  Say  to  him,"  so 
the  Conference  directed,  "  that  we  are  with  him  heart  and 
soul  for  human  rights  and  free  institutions."  As  the  visit  of 
this  deputation  drew  from  Mr.  Lincoln  a  reply  so  deeply  im- 
bued with  religious  feeling  that  it  arrested  at  once  the 
attention  of  the  country,  we  have  requested  a  brief  ac- 
count from  its  only  surviving  member,  the  Kev.  Dr.  Joseph 
Cummings.  He  thus  writes :  "  On  May  14th,  Joseph  Cum- 
mings,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Country,  presented  an  address  prepared  by  him  and  ap- 


*  The  committee  were:  Bishop  E.  R.  Ames,  Joseph  Cummings,  George 
Peck,  Charles  Elliott,  Granville  Moody. 


394  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

proved  by  the  committee,  and  the  nomination  of  a  deputa- 
tion to  bear  the  address  to  Washington,  and,  in  behalf  of 
the  Conference,  to  present  it  to  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
United  States.  The  address  was  adopted,  and  the  nomi- 
nated delegation  was  confirmed.  The  committee  was  or- 
ganized by  the  appointment  of  Bishop  Ames  as  chairman 
and  Joseph  Cummings,  secretary.  Before  reaching  Wash- 
ington, Dr.  Moody  requested  the  secretary  to  let  him  have 
a  copy  of  the  address,  which  he  would  present,  as  soon  as 
practicable,  to  the  president.  On  our  arrival  he  went  im- 
mediately to  the  president's  house,  and  represented  to  Mr. 
Kicolay,  Mr.  Lincoln's  private  secretary,  that  it  was  impor- 
tant he  should  see  the  president  immediately.  lie  said  that 
on  the  next  day  a  delegation  of  a  Conference  of  ministers 
assembled  in  Philadelphia,  representing  the  largest,  most 
loyal  and  influential  Church  of  the  country,  would  call  and 
present  an  address.  Mr.  JSacolay  was  much  interested,  and 
went  immediately  to  consult  the  president,  and  secure  an 
interview  for  Dr.  Moody.  This  was  soon  granted,  and  he 
made  to  the  president  similar  statements  to  those  made  to 
the  secretary,  and  presented  a  copy  of  the  address.  Mr. 
Lincoln  thanked  him,  and  said  he  would  think  about  his 
reply.  On  the  next  day,  by  previous  arrangement,  Mr.  Sew- 
ard, the  secretary  of  state,  introduced  the  committee,  and 
the  address  was  formally  read  and  presented.  In  his  reply 
the  president  playfully  remarked,  much  to  the  surprise  of 
those  members  of  the  committee  who  knew  nothing  of  the 
arrangement,  that  he  had  seen  the  address  before,  and  had 
prepared  his  reply.  He  then  took  from  his  desk  and  read  to 
the  committee  the  answer  that  is  so  highly  and  justly  prized. 
The  existence  of  this  paper  is  due  to  the  arrangement  giving 
notice  to  the  president  that  the  address  would  be  presented. 
As  we  took  leave  of  the  president,  Dr.  Moody,  in  his  usual 
style,  said, '  Mr.  President,  we  all  hope  the  country  will  rest 
in  Abraham's  bosom  for  the  next  four  years.'  This  pro- 
duced a  general  smile,  and  the  interview  closed. 


C*o 


ADDRESS  AT  LINCOLN'S   GRAVE.  395 

"  While  we  waited  for  a  copy  to  be  made,  which  should 
be  kept  by  the  president,  there  was  a  general  conversation 
relative  to  public  matters  and  on  the  state  of  the  Method- 
ist- Church  in  the  South ;  and  it  was  amusing  to  see  how 
Mr.  Lincoln  evaded  a  direct  answer  to  Bishop  Ames's  re- 
quest for  an  opinion  relative  to  our  rights  to  the  Methodist 
churches  in  the  South."* 

But,  alas !  for  us,  the  resting  of  the  country  for  four  years 
"  in  Abraham's  bosom,"  as  it  was  playfully  expressed  by 
Granville  Moody,  was  not  to  be.  It  was  ordered  far  other- 
wise. After  giving  to  the  country  a  second  inaugural  address, 
which  the  London  Spectator  characterized  as  the  loftiest,  in 
its  moral  tone,  of  the  political  papers  of  this  century,  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  assassinated.  The  rejoicing  over  the  capture  of 
Eichmond,  and  the  still  heartier  rejoicing  over  the  surrender 
of  Lee's  army,  was  changed  into  a  sorrow  which  sought 
every  conceivable  form  of  expression.  Bishop  Simpson  was 
at  once  summoned  to  Washington  to  render  such  service  of 
consolation  as  he  could  to  the  distressed  family.  And  when 
the  prolonged  funeral  processions,  which  accompanied  the 
body  of  the  president  from  city  to  city,  were  over,  he  spoke, 
in  Springfield,  111.,  the  last  words  at  the  grave  of  his  friend. 
Something  of  this  address  should  be  given  here,  as  part  of 
the  record  of  the  times  : 

"Fellow- citizens  op  Illinois,  and  Many  Parts  op  Ouk  Entire 
Union,— Near  the  capital  of  this  large  and  growing  state  of  Illinois,  in 
the  midst  of  this  beautiful  grove,  and  at  the  open  mouth  of  the  vault 
which  has  just  received  the  remains  of  our  fallen  chieftain,  we  gather  to 
pay  a  tribute  of  respect  and  drop  the  tears  of  sorrow.  A  little  more  than 
four  years  ago  he  left  his  plain  and  quiet  home  in  yonder  city,  receiving 
the  parting  words  of  the  concourse  of  friends  who,  in  the  midst  of  the 
droppings  of  a  gentle  shower,  gathered  around  him.  He  spoke  of  the 
pain  of  leaving  the  place  where  his  children  had  been  born,  and  where 
his  home  had  been  rendered  so  pleasant  by  many  recollections.  And  as 
he  left  he  made  an  earnest  request,  in  the  hearing  of  some  who  are  present 

*  We  give,  on  the  preceding  page,  a  fac-simile  of  President  Lincoln's 
reply  to  the  General  Conference. 


396  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

at  this  hour,  that,  as  he  was  about  to  enter  upon  responsibilities  which 
he  believed  to  be  greater  than  those  which  had  fallen  upon  any  man 
since  the  days  of  Washington,  the  people  would  offer  up  their  prayers 
that  God  would  aid  and  sustain  him  in  the  work  they  had  given  him  to 
do.  His  company  left  your  city ;  but  as  it  went,  snares  were  set  for  the 
chief  magistrate.  Scarcely  did  he  escape  the  dangers  of  the  way  or  the 
hand  of  the  assassin  as  he  neared  "Washington.  I  believe  he  escaped 
only  through  the  vigilance  of  the  officers  and  the  prayers  of  the  people ; 
so  that  the  blow  was  suspended  for  more  than  four  years,  which  was  at 
last  permitted,  through  the  providence  of  God,  to  fall. 

"How  different  the  occasion  which  witnessed  his  departure  from  that 
which  witnessed  his  return  !  Doubtless  you  expected  to  take  him  by  the 
hand,  to  feel  the  warm  grasp  which  you  felt  in  other  days,  and  to  see 
the  tall  form  among  you  which  you  had  delighted  to  honor  in  years  past. 
But  he  was  never  permitted  to  return  until  he  came  with  lips  mute,  his 
frame  encoffined,  and  a  weeping  nation  following.  Such  a  scene  as  his 
return  to  you  was  never  witnessed.  Among  the  events  of  history  there 
have  been  great  processions  of  mourners.  There  was  one  for  the  pa- 
triarch Jacob,  which  went  out  of  Egypt,  and  the  Canaanites  wondered  at 
the  evidences  of  reverence  and  filial  affection  which  came  from  the  hearts 
of  the  Israelites.  There  was  mourning  when  Moses  fell  upon  the  heights 
of  Pisgah,  and  was  hid  from  human  view.  There  has'been  mourning  in 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  when  kings  and  princes  have  fallen.  But 
never  was  there,  in  the  history  of  man,  such  mourning  as  that  which  has 
attended  this  progress  to  the  grave.  If  we  look  at  the  multitudes  that 
followed  him,  we  can  see  how  the  nation  stood  aghast  when  it  heard  of 
his  death.  Tears  filled  the  eyes  of  manly,  sunburned  faces.  Strong  men, 
as  they  clasped  the  hands  of  their  friends,  were  unable  to  find  vent  for 
their  grief  in  words.  Women  and  little  children  caught  up  the  tidings,  as 
they  ran  through  the  land,  and  were  melted  into  tears.  The  nation  stood 
still.  Men  left  their  ploughs  in  the  fields,  and  asked  what  the  end  should 
be.  The  hum  of  manufactories  ceased,  and  the  sound  of  the  hammer  was 
not  heard.  Busy  merchants  closed  their  doors,  and  in  the  Exchange  gold 
passed  no  more  from  hand  to  hand.  Though  three  weeks  have  elapsed 
the  nation  has  scarcely  breathed  easily.  Men  of  all  political  parties,  and 
of  all  religious  creeds,  have  united  in  paying  this  tribute.  The  arch- 
bishop of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  New  York  and  a  Protestant 
minister  walked  side  by  side  in  the  sad  procession,  and  a  Jewish  rabbi 
performed  a  part  of  the  solemn  service.  Here  are  gathered  around  his 
tomb  the  representatives  of  the  army  and  navy,  senators,  judges,  and 
officers  of  all  the  branches  of  the  government.  Here,  too,  are  members 
of  civic  professions,  with  men  aud  women  from  the  humblest  as  well  as 


SUDDENNESS  OF  MR.  LINCOLN'S  DEATH.  397 

the  highest  occupations.  Here  and  there,  too,  are  tears — as  sincere  and 
warm  as  any  that  drop — which  come  from  the  eyes  of  those  whose  kin- 
dred and  whose  race  have  been  freed  from  their  chains  by  him  whom 
they  mourn  as  their  deliverer.  More  races  have  looked  on  the  proces- 
sion for  sixteen  hundred  miles — by  night  and  by  day — by  sunlight,  dawn, 
twilight,  and  by  torchlight — than  ever  before  watched  the  progress  of  a 
procession  on  its  way  to  a  grave. 

"  A  part  of  this  deep  interest  has  arisen  from  the  times  in  which  we 
live,  and  in  which  he  who  has  fallen  was  a  leading  actor.  It  is  a  princi- 
ple of  our  nature  that  feelings,  once  excited,  turn  readily  from  the  object 
by  which  they  are  aroused  to  some  other  object,  which  may,  for  the  time 
being,  take  possession  of  the  mind.  Another  law  of  our  nature  is,  that 
our  deepest  affections  gather  about  some  human  form  in  which  are  in- 
carnated the  living  thoughts  of  the  age.  If  we  look,  then,  at  the  times, 
we  see  an  age  of  excitement.  [These  thoughts  were  copiously  illus- 
trated.] 

"The  tidings  came  that  Richmond  was  evacuated,  and  that  Lee  had 
surrendered.  The  bells  rang  merrily  all  over  the  land.  The  booming  of 
cannon  was  heard;  illuminations  and  torchlight  processions  manifested 
the  general  joy,  and  families  looked  for  the  speedy  return  of  their  loved 
ones  from  the  field.  Just  in  the  midst  of  this,  in  one  hour — nay,  in  one  mo- 
ment— the  news  was  flashed  throughout  the  land  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
had  perished  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin;  and  then  all  the  feeling  which 
had  been  gathering  for  four  years,  in  forms  of  excitement,  grief,  horror, 
and  joy,  turned  into  one  wail  of  woe — a  sadness  inexpressible.  But  it  is 
not  the  character  of  the  times  merely  which  has  made  this  mourning ;  the 
mode  of  his  death  must  be  taken  into  the  account.  Had  he  died  with  kind 
friends  around  him ;  had  the  sweat  of  death  been  wiped  from  his  brow 
by  gentle  hands,  while  he  was  yet  conscious — how  it  would  have  soft- 
ened or  assuaged  something  of  our  grief.  But  no  moment  of  warning 
was  given  to  him  or  to  us.  He  was  stricken  down,  too,  when  his  hopes 
for  the  end  of  the  rebellion  were  bright,  and  prospects  of  a  calmer  life 
were  before  him.  There  was  a  cabinet  meeting  that  day,  said  to  have 
been  the  most  cheerful  of  any  held  since  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion. 
After  this  meeting  he  talked  with  his  friends,  and  spoke  of  the  four  years 
of  tempest,  of  the  storm  being  over,  and  of  the  four  years  of  content  now 
awaiting  him,  as  the  weight  of  care  and  anxiety  would  be  taken  from  his 
mind.  In  the  midst  of  these  anticipations  he  left  his  house,  never  to  re- 
turn alive.  The  evening  was  Good  Friday,  the  saddest  day  in  the  whole 
calendar  for  the  Christian  Church.  So  filled  with  grief  was  every  Christian 
heart  that  even  the  joyous  thoughts  of  Easter  Sunday  failed  to  remove 
the  sorrow  under  which  the  true  worshipper  bowed  in  the  house  of  God. 


398  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"But  the  chief  reason  for  this  mourning  is  to  be  found  in  the  man  him- 
self. Mr.  Lincoln  was  no  ordinary  man.  I  believe  the  conviction  has  been 
growing  in  the  nation's  mind,  as  it  certainly  has  been  in  my  own,  especially 
in  the  last  years  of  his  administration,  that,  by  the  hand  of  God,  he  was 
especially  singled  out  to  guide  our  government  in  these  troublesome 
times,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  hand  of  God  may  be  traced  in  many 
of  the  events  connected  with  his  history.  First,  then,  I  recognize  this 
in  the  physical  education  which  he  received,  and  which  prepared  him 
for  enduring  herculean  labors.  In  the  toils  of  his  boyhood  and  the  labors 
of  his  manhood  God  was  giving  him  an  iron  frame.  Next  to  this  was  his 
identification  with  the  people,  his  understanding  of  their  feelings,  for  lie 
was  one  of  them,  and  connected  with  them  in  their  daily  life.  His  edu- 
cation was  simple.  A  few  months  spent  in  the  school-house  gave  him 
the  elements  of  knowledge.  He  read  few  books,  but  mastered  all  he 
read.  Bunyan's  'Pilgrim's  Progress,'  iEsop's  'Fables,'  and  the  'Life  of 
Washington'  were  his  favorites  in  the  time  of  his  boyhood.  His  early 
life,  with  its  varied  struggles,  joined  him  indissolubly  to  the  working 
masses,  and  no  elevation  in  society  diminished  his  resjiect  for  the  sons 
of  toil.  He  knew  what  it  was  to  fell  the  tall  trees  of  the  forest  and  to 
stem  the  current  of  the  broad  Mississippi.  His  home  was  in  the  growing 
"West,  the  heart  of  the  republic,  and,  invigorated  by  the  winds  that  swept 
over  its  prairies,  he  learned  lessons  of  self-reliance  which  sustained  him 
in  seasons  of  adversity. 

"  His  genius  was  soon  recognized,  as  true  genius  always  will  be,  and 
he  was  placed  in  the  legislature  of  his  state.  Already  acquainted  with 
the  principles  of  law,  he  devoted  his  thoughts  to  matters  of  public  inter- 
est, and  began  to  be  looked  on  as  the  coming  statesman.  As  early  as 
1839  he  presented  resolutions  in  the  legislature  asking  for  emancipation 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  when,  with  but  rare  exceptions,  the  whole 
popular  mind  of  his  state  was  opposed  to  the  measure.  From  that  hour 
he  was  a  steady  and  uniform  friend  of  humanity,  and  was  preparing  for 
the  conflict  of  later  years. 

"If  you  ask  me  on  what  mental  characteristics  his  greatness  rested,  I 
answer,  on  a  quick  and  ready  perception  of  facts ;  on  a  memory  unusu- 
ally retentive ;  and  on  a  logical  turn  of  mind,  which  followed,  sternly  and 
unwaveringly,  every  link  in  the  chain  of  thought  on  every  subject  which 
he  was  called  to  investigate.  I  think  that  there  have  been  minds  more 
comprehensive  in  their  scope,  but  I  doubt  if  there  ever  has  been  a  man 
who  could  follow,  step  by  step,  with  more  logical  power,  the  points  which 
he  desired  to  illustrate.  He  gained  this  power,  in  part,  by  the  close 
study  of  geometry,  and  by  the  determination  to  perceive  the  truth  in  all 
its  simplicity.     It  is  said  of  him  that,  in  childhood,  if,  when  listening  to 


THE  LESSON  OF  TEE  HOUR.  399 

a  conversation,  he  had  any  difficulty  in  understanding  what  people 
meant,  he  could  not  sleep,  after  retiring  to  rest,  till  he  had  tried  to  make 
out  the  precise  points  intended,  and,  when  made  out,  to  frame  language 
to  convey  them  in  a  clearer  manner  to  others.  Who  that  has  read  his 
messages  fails  to  perceive  the  directness  of  his  style  ?  It  was  not,  however, 
chiefly  by  his  mental  faculties  that  he  gained  such  control  over  mankind. 
His  moral  power  gave  him  pre-eminence.  The  conviction  of  men  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  an  honest  man  led  them  to  yield  to  his  guidance. 
As  has  been  said  of  Cobden,  whom  he  greatly  resembled,  he  made  all  men 
feel  a  sense  of  himself.  They  saw  in  him  a  man  who,  they  believed, 
would  do  what  is  right,  regardless  of  all  consequences.  It  was  this  moral 
integrity  which  gave  him  his  hold  on  the  people,  and  made  his  utterances 
almost  oracular. 

"But,  after  all,  by  the  acts  of  a  man  shall  his  fame  be  perpetuated. 
What  are  his  acts?  Much  praise  is  due  to  the  men  who  aided  him.  He 
called  able  counsellors  around  him— some  of  whom  have  displayed  the 
highest  order  of  talent,  united  with  the  purest  and  most  devoted  patriot- 
ism. He  summoned  able  generals  into  the  field — men  who  have  borne 
the  sword  as  bravely  as  ever  any  human  arm  has  borne  it.  He  had  the 
aid  of  prayerful  and  thoughtful  men  everywhere.  But  under  his  own 
guiding  hands,  wise  counsels  were  combined  and  great  movements  con- 
ducted. The  great  act  of  our  dead  president,  on  which  his  fame  shall 
rest  long  after  his  frame  shall  moulder  away,  is  that  of  giving  freedom  to 
a  race.  We  are  thankful  that  God  granted  to  Abraham  Liucoln  the  de- 
cision and  wisdom  and  grace  to  issue  his  proclamation  of  freedom. 

"  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  good  man ;  lie  was  known  as  an  honest,  tem- 
perate, forgiving  man  ;  a  just  man;  a  man  of  noble  heart  in  every  way. 
As  to  his  religious  experience  I  cannot  speak  definitely,  because  I  was 
not  privileged  to  know  much  of  his  private  sentiments.  My  acquaint- 
ance with  him  did  not  give  me  the  opportunity  to  hear  him  speak  on 
those  topics.  This  I  know,  however :  he  read  the  Bible  frequently,  loved 
it  for  its  great  truths,  and  he  tried  to  be  guided  by  its  precepts.  He  be- 
lieved in  Christ  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  and  I  think  he  was  sincere  in  try- 
ing to  bring  his  life  into  harmony  with  the  principles  of  revealed  relig- 
ion. Certainly  if  there  ever  was  a  man  who  illustrated  some  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  pure  religion,  that  man  was  our  departed  president.  Look  over 
all  his  speeches;  listen  to  his  utterances.  He  never  spoke  unkindly  of 
any  man.  Even  the  rebels  received  no  word  of  anger  from  him.  As  a 
ruler,  I  doubt  if  any  president  has  ever  shown  such  trust  in  God,  or  in 
public  documents  so  frequently  referred  to  divine  aid.  Often  did  he  re- 
mark to  friends  and  to  delegations  that  his  hope  for  our  success  rested 
in  his  conviction  that  God  would  bless  our  efforts,  because  wtc  were  try- 


400  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

ing  to  do  right.  To  the  address  of  a  large  religious  body  he  replied : 
'  Thanks  be  unto  God,  who,  in  our  trials,  giveth  us  the  churches.'  To  a 
minister  -who  said  that  he  hoped  the  Lord  was  on  our  side,  he  replied 
that  it  gave  him  no  concern  whether  the  Lord  was  on  our  side  or  not, 
for  'I  know  the  Lord  is  always  on  the  side  of  right;'  and,  witli  deep 
feeling,  added  :  'But  God  is  my  witness  that  it  is  my  constant  anxiety 
and  prayer  that  both  myself  and  this  nation  should  be  on  the  Lord's  side.' 

"  Let  us  pause  a  moment  and  consider  the  lesson  of  the  hour  before  we 
part.  This  man,  though  he  fell  by  assassination,  still  fell  under  the  per- 
missive hand  of  God.  What  more  could  Mr.  Lincoln  have  desired  of  life 
for  himself?  Were  not  his  honors  full?  There  was  no  office  to  which 
he  could  aspire.  The  popular  feeling  clung  to  him  as  to  no  other  man. 
He  appears  to  have  had  a  strange  presentiment,  early  in  his  political  ca- 
reer, that  some  day  he  would  be  president.  You  see  it  indicated  in  1839. 
Of  the  slave  power  he  said  :  '  Broken  by  it  I,  too,  may  be;  bow  to  it  I 
never  will.  The  probability  that  we  may  fail  in  the  struggle  ought  not 
to  deter  us  from  the  support  of  a  cause  which  we  deem  to  be  just.  It  shall 
not  deter  me.  If  ever  I  feel  the  soul  within  me  elevate  and  expand  to 
those  dimensions  not  wholly  unworthy  its  Almighty  architect,  it  is  when 
I  contemplate  the  cause  of  my  country  deserted  by  all  the  world  besides, 
and  I  standing  up  boldly  and  alone,  and  hurling  defiance  at  her  victori- 
ous oppressors.  Here,  without  contemplating  consequences,  before  high 
Heaven  and  in  the  face  of  the  world,  I  swear  eternal  fidelity  to  the  just 
cause,  as  I  deem  it,  of  the  land  of  my  life,  my  liberty,  and  my  love.'  And 
yet,  secretly,  he  said  to  more  than  one  :  '  I  never  shall  live  out  the  four 
years  of  my  term.  When  the  rebellion  is  crushed  my  work  is  done.'  So 
it  wTas.  He  lived  to  see  the  last  battle  fought,  and  to  dictate  a  despatch 
from  the  home  of  Jefferson  Davis ;  lived  till  the  power  of  the  rebellion 
was  broken,  and  then,  having  done  the  work  to  which  God  had  called 
him,  he  passed  to  his  reward. 

"  Standing,  as  we  do  to-day,  by  his  coffin,  let  us  resolve  to  carry  for- 
ward the  policy  so  nobly  begun.  Let  us  do  right  to  all  men.  Let  us 
vow,  before  Heaven,  to  eradicate  every  vestige  of  human  slavery;  to  give 
every  human  being  his  true  position  before  God  and  man  ;  to  crush  every 
form  of  rebellion,  and  to  stand  by  the  flag  which  God  has  given  us.  How 
joyful  that  it  floated  over  parts  of  every  state  before  Mr.  Lincoln's  career 
was  ended.  How  singular  that  to  the  fact  of  the  assassin's  heel  being 
caught  in  the  folds  of  the  flag  we  are  probably  indebted  for  his  capture. 
The  time  will  come  when,  in  the  beautiful  words  of  him  whose  lips 
are  now  forever  sealed, '  the  mystic  chords  of  memory,  which  stretch  from 
every  battle-field  and  from  every  patriot's  grave,  shall  yield  a  sweeter 
music  when  touched  by  the  angels  of  our  better  nature.' 


THE  CHRISTIAN  COMMISSION  DISSOLVED.  401 

"  Chieftain,  farewell !  The  nation  mourns  thee.  Mothers  shall  teach 
thy  name  to  their  lisping  children.  The  youth  of  our  land  shall  emulate 
thy  virtues.  Statcsmeu  shall  study  thy  record,  and  from  it  learn  lessons 
of  wisdom.  Mute  though  thy  lips  be,  yet  they  still  speak.  Hushed  is 
thy  voice,  but  its  echoes  of  liberty  are  ringing  through  the  world,  and 
the  sons  of  bondage  listen  with  joy.  Thou  didst  fall  not  for  thyself. 
The  assassin  had  no  hate  for  thee.  Our  hearts  were  aimed  at;  our  na- 
tional life  was  sought.  We  crown  thee  as  our  martyr,  and  Humanity  en- 
thrones thee  as  her  triumphant  son.     Hero,  martyr,  friend,  farewell." 

There  was  another  closing  scene,  memorable  in  its  way, 
awakening  other  feelings  than  those  aroused  by  the  death 
of  Mr.  Lincoln,  yet  equally  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  war 
— the  last  meeting  of  the  United  States  Christian  Commis- 
sion. In  this,  too,  Bishop  Simpson  took  part.  Through 
the  courtesy  of  Mr.  George  H.  Stuart,  the  president  of  the 
Commission,  I  have  been  put  in  possession  of  the  bishop's 
address  on  this  occasion.*     The  time  was  February,  1866 ; 

*  In  the  course  of  conversation,  Mr.  Stuart  gave  an  account  of  the  pre- 
sentation of  a  home  to  General  Grant  by  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  which 
is  well  worth  preserving : 

"  General  Grant  had  sent  his  children  to  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  for 
schooling,  and  wanted  to  place  his  family  in  Philadelphia,  but  found 
rents  so  exorbitant  that  he  could  not  afford  it.  He  wrote  to  Mr.  Stuart 
to  find  him  a  house.  Mr.  Stuart  suggested  to  his  friends  that  the  people 
of  Philadelphia  give  him  one.  No  sooner  said  than  done,  for  the  sub- 
scriptions were  quickly  made.  It  was  then  determined  to  furnish  the 
house — one  on  Chestnut  Street.  When  all  was  ready,  the  Grants  were 
invited  to  lunch  with  some  friends.  The  place  was  the  new  house;  the 
hosts,  the  subscribers  and  their  families.  General  Grant  and  his  family, 
when  they  arrived,  were  puzzled  to  know  who  their  host  and  hostess  were. 
AVhose  house  are  we  in?  they  asked,  and  were  not  a  little  mystified. 

"  Very  soon,  as  the  general  was  seated  on  a  sofa,  Mr.  Stuart  handed 
him  the  deed,  informing  him  that  the  gift  of  the  house  was  made  by  his 
friends  in  Philadelphia  to  express  the  sense  of  their  obligations  to  him. 
Grant's  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  speech  failed  him.  Stuart  quickly  re- 
lieved him,  saying,  '  General,  you  are  a  man  of  deeds  not  of  words,'  and 
again  gave  expression  to  the  great  debt  of  gratitude  due  him  for  saving 
the  country.  The  party  then  sat  down  to  an  elegant  entertainment ;  and 
the  company  of  friends  left,  leaving  the  house  furnished  with  ample 
stores  for  housekeeping." 
26 


402  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

the  place  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Wash- 
ington ;  the  presiding  officer,  Speaker  Colfax ;  the  audience 
was  largely  composed  of  the  men  who  had  carried  the  nation 
through  its  trials.  The  bishop  rose  to  the  demands  of  the 
occasion,  and  fitly  said  the  last  words,  which  were  in  his 
tenderest  vein.  The  concluding  passages,  at  least,  are  worth 
preserving : 

"But  I  must  not  delay.  The  record  of  the  Commission  is  made.  Its 
accounts  are  closed.  Its  workers  are  about  to  scatter,  and  we  have  only 
to  say  '  Farewell.'  Let  me  congratulate  you,  brethren  of  the  Commission, 
on  closing  your  work  in  such  a  place  and  in  such  a  presence.  It  was  fit 
that  you  should  meet  in  the  Capitol  of  the  nation,  in  this  Hall  of  Free- 
dom, where  the  nation  meets  through  its  chosen  men ;  in  this  chamber, 
where  the  light  shines  so  sweetly  and  so  softly  through  those  emblems 
of  peace  and  national  glory,  as  typifying  the  light  of  heaven,  which 
shines  on  every  mortal  enterprise.  We  rejoice  also  in  the  associations 
of  the  eveniug.  We  have  in  the  chair  our  honored  speaker,  who  pre- 
sides over  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  who  has  shown  a  deep  in- 
terest in  our  work.  And  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  that  while  he  presides 
over  a  body  eminent  for  wisdom  and  eloquence,  he  never  presided  over 
more  patriotic  and  loyal  hearts  than  those  of  the  workers  in  the  Chris- 
tian Commission.  We  are  here  also  in  the  presence  of  the  army  and 
navy,  in  the  persons  of  so  many  honored  officers  of  high  rank,  who  well 
know  what  the  association  has  accomplished;  in  the  presence  of  distin- 
guished members  of  the  cabinet,  and  of  the  learned  and  accomplished 
chief-justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Around  us  we  recognize  many  sena- 
tors and  representatives  who  gave  us  their  sympathies  and  their  prayers. 
In  such  a  presence,  and  with  such  benedictions,  it  is  meet  that  our  Com- 
mission should  pass  gently  away.  Are  there  not  some  that  have  been  more 
glorious  in  death  than  even  in  life  ?  I  think  that  Moses,  though  he  had 
led  his  people  triumphantly  through  the  sea,  and  had  been  on  Sinai  in 
the  Divine  presence,  was  never  so  honored  as  when,  having  stood  on 
Pisgah's  summit  and  glanced  at  the  distant  hills  and  plains,  it  is  simply 
said  that  God  '  buried  him.'  The  Christian  Commission  has  led  a  noble 
life.  It  was  baptized  in  prayer,  worked  amid  suffering  and  affliction, 
leaned  on  the  affections  of  the  wise  and  pure,  received  aid  from  all  classes, 
and  ministered  to  multiplied  thousands.  Its  dying  moment  has  come, 
and  it  breathes  its  last  breath  sweetly  and  gently  as  the  fabled  notes  of 
the  dying  swan.  The  nation  draws  near,  utters  its  benediction,  and 
'  buries  '  with  honor. 

"  But,  beloved  workers,  as  we  part  we  go  to  other  fields.     The  spirit  of 


LAST  MEETING  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  COMMISSION.     4<)3 

the  Commission  will  still  live.  We  shall  not  be  an  organized  body,  but 
we  shall  be  active  laborers.  There  are  other  fields.  Vice  in  many  forms 
is  to  be  encountered  and  vanquished.  Cities  are  to  be  evangelized. 
Freed  men  are  to  be  educated.  The  ignorant  everywhere  are  to  be  in- 
structed. A  great  work  is  before  us.  The  nation  is  to  be  reconstructed. 
The  theoretical  and  political  work,  and  the  exercise  of  power,  we  leave 
to  statesmen,  officers,  and  wise  men  assembled  here.  But  when  the  law 
and  the  sword  have  accomplished  their  utmost  work,  they  cannot  change 
unwilling  minds.  The  moral  work  remains  to  be  done.  We  must  carry 
the  gospel  to  men  of  all  ranks,  classes,  sections,  and  prejudices,  for  one 
thing  alone  can  make  us  truly  one, — the  love  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord. 

"Ere  we  part  it  is  proper  to  return  our  grateful  acknowledgments  to 
the  officers  who  have  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  Commission.  I  have 
seen  their  labors,  having  been  slightly  identified  with  them.  Diligence, 
system,  economy,  earnestness,  and  deep  devotedness  have  marked  their 
varied  movements.  From  the  headquarters  at  Philadelphia,  from  the 
offices  at  Boston,  New  York,  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  St.  Louis, 
and  elsewhere,  immense  stores  have  been  issued  and  vast  labor  has  been 
performed,  without  confusion  and  without  ostentation.  As  I  look  upon 
the  whole  band  of  laborers,  I  am  reminded  that  the  expression  is  not  too 
strong,  for  it  is  written  of  all  active  laborers,  '  They  that  be  wise  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to 
righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and  forever.'  Workers  of  the  Commis- 
sion, continue  to  shine  as  stars.  Your  light  cannot  be  hid.  If  the  mite 
which  the  widow  cast  into  the  treasury  remains  before  the  eye  of  the  great 
Master,  surely  the  cups  of  cold  water,  the  messages  of  mercy,  the  words 
of  holy  comfort,  ministered  by  the  delegates,  shall  never  be  forgotten. 

"But  the  workers  are  not  all  here.  Scattered  over  the  land  they  are 
with  us  in  spirit.  They  are  not  all  visible.  Some  fell  on  the  battle-field, 
whispering  with  their  dying  breath  the  name  of  Jesus.  Some  fell  by 
disease  contracted  while  ministering  in  the  hospital.  May  they  not  be 
here  also?  May  it  not  be  that  brave  soldier  boys,  comforted  in  their 
anguish  and  death  by  your  ministrations,  join  you  in  spirit  also  ?  These 
galleries  are  densely  crowded.  Are  there  not  higher  galleries  ?  Above 
this  light,  beaming  so  softly  upon  us,  may  they  not  be  purer  and  brighter 
lights  ?  May  not  the  unseen  be  veiy  near  us  ?  In  my  youth  I  was  taught 
to  repeat : 

'Angels  now  are  hovering  round  us, 
Unperceived  amid  the  throng, 
Wondering  at  the  love  that  crowned  us, 
Glad  to  join  the  holy  song.' 


404  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

And  if  angels  come,  may  not  redeemed  and  glorified  spirits  come  also  ? 
While  the  benedictions  of  officers  and  statesmen  fall  upon  your  ears,  may 
there  not  be  gentle  tones  whispering  love  and  joy  within  ?  May  it  not 
even  be  that  he,  our  martyred  one,  whose  seat  is  vacant  here,  but  who 
cheered  us  twelve  months  since,  looks  lovingly  upon  the  scene  ?  Be 
that  as  it  may,  there  is  a  far  greater  among  us,  who  hath  said,  '  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world.' 

"Brave  workers,  go  to  your  fields.     They  are  ripening  to  the  harvest. 
Work  for  Jesus,  and  what  your  hands  '  find  to  do,  do  it  with  your  might.'  " 


XVIII. 

LAY  DELEGATION. 


1853-1873. 


The  History  of  Methodist  Lay  Representation  a  Long  One. — Origin  of 
the  Ministerial  Power. — Dissatisfaction  with  the  Sole  Government  of 
the  Church  by  Ministers. — The  WesJeyan  Repository.— Merged  in  the 
Mutual  Mights.— Mr.  William  S.  Stockton  and  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond.— 
The  Report  of  1828  on  "  Petitions  and  Memorials." — The  Philadelphia 
Movement. — Return  of  Dr.  Bond  to  the  Chair  of  the  Christian  Advocate. 
— The  Wolves  and  the  Sheep. — Petitions  to  the  General  Conference. — 
Popular  and  Ministerial  Vote  on  Lay  Delegation  in  1861. — Lay  Dele- 
gation Defeated. — The  Cause  Taken  Up  by  The  Methodist. — Prejudice 
against  its  Supporters. — The  Right  to  a  Free  Press  Asserted. — Bishop 
Simpson  becomes  a  Helper  of  the  Laymen. — Letters  of  Daniel  L.  Ross 
to  Him.— The  John  Street  Meeting,  March,  1863.— The  Bishop's  Coun- 
sels.— The  Convention  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  New  York,  May,  1863. — 
The  Bishop's  Address. — Angry  Opposition. — The  Opposition  not  Sur- 
prising.— Succeeding  Conventions. — Co-operation  of  Leading  Official 
Editors. — The  Minority  becomes  a  Majority.— Completion  of  the  Work 
in  1872. 


A  LONG  HIS  TOBY.  407 


XVIII. 

The  history  of  the  effort  to  secure  lay  representation  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  covers  a  period  of  fifty 
years.  Originally,  as  is  well  known  to  Methodists,  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church  was  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the  min- 
isters. This  was,  however,  more  an  accident  than  the  result 
of  design.  In  England,  John  Wesley  exercised  autocratic 
power  over  the  societies  which  he  had  gathered ;  after  his 
death  his  power  was  inherited  by  the  company  of  preachers 
to  whom  he  had  conveyed  it  by  deed  of  trust.  In  America 
the  same  plan  of  organization  was  followed;  neither  Mr. 
Wesley,  who  drew  up  the  scheme  of  government,  nor  the 
preachers  in  America,  for  whom  it  was  provided,  thought  of 
any  other  system  than  that  which  had  been  adopted  in  the 
mother  country.  The  preachers  met  once  every  year,  and 
passed  rules  for  the  regulation  of  the  Methodist  societies. 
They  had  created  the  Church  by  their  missionary  labors, 
and  felt,  naturally  enough,  that  the  care  of  its  interests  per- 
tained to  themselves  alone. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  such  a  system  could  not  last. 
To  begin  with,  it  was  contrary  to  the  instincts  of  Protestant- 
ism, which,  by  affirming  the  priesthood  of  all  believers,  re- 
stored the  laity  to  their  proper  place  in  the  Church.  It  was 
contrary,  also,  to  the  genius  of  Methodism  itself,  for  in  noth- 
ing is  Methodism  more  remarkable  than  in  the  extent  to 
which  it  uses  lay  activities.  Dissatisfaction  with  the  sole 
control  of  the  Church  by  the  ministry  appeared  very  early 
in  the  present  century.  By  the  year  1821  it  began  to  be 
outspoken.     Mr.  William  S.  Stockton,  a  layman  of  Trenton, 


403  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

New  Jersey,  established  a  monthly  periodical,  known  as  the 
Wesleyan  Repository,  which  advocated  the  admission  of  lay 
delegates  to  the  ministerial  assemblies.  In  1824  the  Reposi- 
tory was  merged  in  the  Mutual  Rights,  and  transferred  to 
Baltimore.  By  this  time  the  contest  had  become  very  bitter ;  it 
was,  unfortunately,  involved  with  an  assault  upon  episcopacy 
as  unrepublican  and  despotic.  Crimination  was  followed  by 
recrimination ;  members  of  the  Church  in  all  respects  excel- 
lent were  expelled  on  the  charge  of  inveighing  against  the 
Methodist  system  of  government.  Ultimately  a  new  Church 
was  organized,  which  took  the  name  of  the  Methodist  Prot- 
estant. The  bitterness  which  accompanied  the  controversy 
lasted  far  into  the  next  generation.  In  Methodist  speech,  to 
be  a  radical  was  to  be  counted  unfit  for  church  fellowship. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  too,  that  the  champion  on  the 
conservative  side  was  also  a  layman.  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond 
was,  in  his  day,  easily  the  first  controversialist  in  our  Church. 
Master  of  an  admirable  style,  keen  to  perceive  every  weak- 
ness of  his  opponent,  energetic  in  expression,  incapable  of 
writing  a  dull  paragraph,  he  added  to  all  these  qualities  an 
extraordinary  power  of  satire.  Had  he  devoted  himself  to 
literature  he  would  have  been  the  peer  of  any  prose  writer 
of  his  time  in  America.  On  this  question  he  became  the 
Church's  chief  authority,  and  wrote  for  the  committee  on 
"Petitions  and  Memorials"  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1828  the  report  which  virtually  concluded  the  debate.  There 
was  not  force  enough  nor  intelligence  enough  in  the  Con- 
ference to  answer  the  arguments  of  the  report ;  yet  it  rested 
on  the  assumption  that  the  divine  call  to  the  ministry  carries 
with  it  the  equally  divine  right  of  the  ministers  to  the  ex- 
clusive government  of  the  Church.  Our  Church  was  there- 
by  virtually  put  on  Roman  Catholic  ground,  and  the  people 
were  remanded  to  a  state  of  pupilage.  In  this  position 
American  Methodism  —  the  seceders  excepted  —  remained 
until  1851-52.  For  a  preacher  to  be  known  as  a  promoter 
of  lay  delegation  was  as  much  as  his  ecclesiastical  life  was 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  LAYMEN.  409 

worth.  For  him  there  was  no  hope,  no  preferment,  no 
peace.  An  amusing  incident,  of  which  I  was  myself  a 
witness,  will  illustrate  the  universal  feeling.  An  applicant 
for  admission  to  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  in  the  year 
1847,  was  objected  to  on  several  grounds.  While  the  case 
was  pending,  a  respectable  member  of-  the  Conference  arose 
and  said,  "  Mr.  President,  I  am  opposed  to  the  admission  of 
this  brother ;  I  am  told  that  he  is  a  lay  delegation  man,  and 
I  had  as  lief  travel  with  the  devil  as  with  a  lay  delegation 
man !"  * 

In  1852  affairs  took  a  turn  for  the  better.  The  laymen 
of  Philadelphia,  who  keenly  felt  a  dissatisfaction  which 
was  shared  with  them  by  many  intelligent  Methodists,  sum- 
moned a  convention  to  meet  in  that  city.  They  profited 
by  the  experience  of  the  past,  and  resolved  to  proceed  in  a 
peaceable  spirit  and  by  the  use  of  peaceable  means.  They 
called  into  counsel  with  them  the  champion  of  the  old  sys- 
tem, Dr.  Bond,  now  mellowed  by  age,  and,  as  I  believe,  con- 
vinced that  some  concessions  should  be  made.  He  was  ready 
to  waive  the  question  of  right,  and  to  treat  the  subject  in  a 
wholly  practical  way.  He  even  approved  of  a  scheme  of 
lay  co-operation  which  had  been  adopted  by  the  Tennessee 
Conference  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church.  The  earli- 
est champion  on  the  other  side,  Mr.  Stockton,  was  also 
still  living,  and  became  a  frequent,  though  an  anonymous, 

*Dr.  George  Brown,  one  of  the  patriarchs  of  Methodist  Protestantism, 
tells  a  similar  story.  He  was  a  presiding  elder  in  the  Pittsburgh  Con- 
ference, and  was  privately  circulating  the  "  Mutual  Rights  of  the  Min- 
isters and  Members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church."  His  people, 
however,  supposed  him  to  be  on  the  other  side.  While  travelling  his 
district,  he  says,  this  "periodical  was  kept  out  of  my  sight,  wherever 
I  went.  When  dismounting  from  my  horse  at  the  house  of  Thomas 
Maple,  a  valuable  local  preacher,  to  whom  I  had  sent  the  paper,  I  heard 
Sister  Maple  call  out  to  one  of  the  girls,  '  Run,  Sal,  run !  take  them 
"  Mutual  Rights  "  off  the  table ;  there  comes  the  elder.'  And  '  Sal '  must 
have  taken  and  concealed  them  in  some  by-corner,  for  they  were  not  to 
be  seen  during  my  stay." 


410  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

contributor  to  the  organ  of  the  laymen,  the  Philadelphia 
Christian  Advocate.  But  how  changed  the  men!  The 
two  antagonists,  possibly  unknown  to  each  other  as  dispu- 
tants in  this  newly  ordered  battle-field,  retained  the  intel- 
lectual keenness,  but  had  outlived  the  fiery  zeal,  of  their 
earlier  years.  Friend  and  foe  were  alike  welcome  to  the 
columns  of  the  Philadelphia  Advocate,  and  the  foes  of  lay 
delegation  used  their  opportunity  to  the  utmost.  As  the 
fruit  of  the  convention,  a  petition  was  sent  to  the  General 
Conference  of  1852.  This,  as  we  have  stated  already,  was 
kindly  received,*  but  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  denied, 
on  the  ground  of  the  inexpediency  of  the  change  asked  for. 
But  a  step  forward  had  been  taken.  The  question  of  right 
was  put  aside,  and  the  other  question  of  the  utility  of  a  rep- 
resentation of  the  laity  was  brought  to  the  front. 

To  secure  the  Church  against  what  was  supposed  to  be  a 
threatening  danger,  Dr.  Bond  was  recalled  to  the  chair  of 
the  ]STew  York  Christian  Advocate,  but  died  before  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  of  office.  He  still,  however,  during  these 
closing  years,  relied  upon  the  old  arguments,  republished  his 
famous  "Appeal,"  and  claimed  the  authorship  of  the  "Re- 
port on  Petitions  and  Memorials  "  of  1828 — a  point  which, 
up  to  this  time,  had  been  in  doubt.  He  still  continued  to 
hold  the  Church  fast  in  the  logical  puzzle  which  is  the  prin- 
cipal feature  of  the  report,  and  out  of  which  there  was  for 
many  minds  no  possible  escape,  f 

*  See  chap.  XI.,  p.  248. 

1 1  refer  to  the  second  paragraph,  beginning,  "  As  to  the  claim  of  right 
to  the  representation  contended  for,  if  it  be  a  right  which  the  claimants 
are  entitled  to  demand,  it  must  be  either  a  natural  or  an  acquired  right," 
etc.  Dr.  Bond,  being  a  layman,  was  not  a  member  of  that  General  Confer- 
ence; the  chairman  of  the  committee  on  "Petitions  and  Memorials"  was 
Dr.  John  Emory,  afterwards  bishop.  Dr.  Bond  denied  his  own  right  to  be 
a  member  of  the  General  Conference,  but  exercised  the  prerogative  of  in- 
tellectual energy  to  control  its  deliberations.  Taken  altogether,  it  was  a 
curious  situation.  As  to  the  effect  produced  upon  the  Conference  of  1828 
by  the  reading  of  the  report,  I  was  told  by  the  Rev.  Solomon  Higgins,  of 


NEEDLESS  APPREHENSIONS.  4H 

But  the  temper  of  the  times  was  rapidly  altering  for  the 
better.  Laymen  and  ministers  could  now  say  that  they 
favored  lay  delegation  without  instantly  becoming  objects 
of  suspicion.  Yet  there  were  many  who  trembled  with  ap- 
prehension whenever  this  change  in  the  constitution  of  the 
Church  was  named.  A  little  incident  will  show  the  suscep- 
tibility of  Methodist  feeling  in  1852.  The  convention  of  the 
laymen  in  Philadelphia  was  followed  by  a  counter  conven- 
tion of  the  opposition  in  the  spring  of  the  same  year.  The 
venerable  Dr.  Bond  presided.  There  were  gathered  about 
him  as  officers  and  promoters  of  the  objects  of  the  assembly 
some  of  the  best-esteemed  laymen  of  that  day.  The  excel- 
lent brother  who  opened  the  devotional  service  read  out  the 
hymn  beginning — 

"Jesus,  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep, 
To  thee  for  help  we  fly; 
Thy  little  flock  in  safety  keep, 
For,  oh  !  the  wolf  is  nigh.'', 

The  innocent  wolves  were  sitting  quietly  in  the  congrega- 
tion, and  were  highly  amused  by  the  turn  that  had  been 
made  on  them.  The  reader  of  the  hymn  was,  however,  one 
of  the  lay  delegates  elected  to  the  General  Conference  of 
1872. 

The  laymen  appeared  also  before  the  General  Conference 
of  1856  with  a  petition  very  much  in  the  terms  of  that  of 
1852.  The  Conference,  however,  was  absorbed  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  project  of  a  new  chapter  in  the  Discipline  on 
slavery,  and  gave  little  time  or  thought  to  anything  else. 

In  the  General  Conference  of  1860  the  subject  was  brought 
forward  by  the  bishops,  who  said  in  their  address,  "  We  are 
of  opinion  that  lay  delegation  might  be  introduced  in  one 
form  into  the  General  Conference  with  safety,  and  perhaps 

the  Philadelphia  Conference,  himself  a  delegate,  that  Nicholas  Snethen, 
a  leader  of  the  lay  delegationists,  pronounced  it  to  be  unanswerable. 


412  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

advantage,  that  form  being  a  separate  bouse."  After  much 
discussion  the  Conference  declared  itself  ready  to  sanction 
the  measure  whenever  it  should  appear  that  it  was  de- 
manded by  the  people  and  the  ministers.  A  test  vote  of 
both  ministers  and  people  was  ordered  to  be  taken  in 
the  year  1861.  But  in  the  period  from  1856  to  1860  the 
country  had  been  more  absorbed  than  ever  in  the  anti- 
slavery  struggle.  In  1861  the  war  began ;  the  result  of  the 
vote  taken  that  year  was  the  total  defeat  of  the  lay  delega- 
tionists.  From  the  ministers  there  were  3069  votes  against 
to  1338  for,  and  from  the  people  47,885  votes  against  to 
28,884  votes  for.  The  number  of  votes  in  favor  was,  how- 
ever, too  large  to  be  overlooked.  At  this  point  the  movement 
was  espoused  by  The  Methodist  (edited  then  and  for  years 
after  by  the  present  writer),  which  had  been  established  in 
1860  for  the  purpose  of  doing  what  in  it  lay  to  preserve  the 
threatened  unity  of  the  Church.  The  task  set  before  us  was 
to  take  up  a  defeated  cause,  to  inspirit  its  friends,  to  obtain  a 
rehearing  from  the  Church,  and,  if  possible,  to  achieve  suc- 
cess. There  was,  besides  all  this,  a  serious  difficulty  in  the 
way.  The  ministers  and  laymen  who  were  united  in  sus- 
taining The  Methodist  were  in  a  minority  on  the  question  of 
the  proper  treatment  of  the  so-called  border  Conferences.* 
In  fact,  it  would  not  be  extravagant  to  say  that  they  were 
under  the  ban  of  the  Church.  All  their  movements  were 
regarded  with  distrust.  It  was  supposed  that  they  had  an 
ulterior  object,  for  which  the  advocacy  of  lay  delegation  was 
a  mere  cover ;  sometimes  it  was  said  that  their  aim  was 
purely  personal,  and  that  they  wished  to  use  the  laity  as  a 
means  of  gaining  power.  To  tell  the  truth,  freedom  of 
thought  and  of  speech,  even  on  matters  not  of  the  faith,  was 
grudgingly  allowed  in  those  days.     It  is  strange  that  the 


*  These  were  the  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  lying  in  both  free  and 
slave  territory,  and  the  Kentucky,  West  Virginia,  and  Missouri  and  Ar- 
kansas Conferences,  lying  wholly  in  slave  territory. 


"THE  DISLOYAL    CORPS   OF  THE  METHODIST."     413 

founding  of  a  newspaper,  one  of  the  commonest  occur- 
rences of  American  life,  should  bring  upon  its  founders  so 
much  detraction,  but  so  it  was.*  It  seems  never  to  have 
occurred  to  the  ruling  majority  that  men  who  were  cut  off 
from  such  representation,  through  the  organs  of  the  Church, 
as  they  deemed  indispensable  to  themselves,  had  the  right, 
if  they  were  strong  enough,  to  provide  means  of  representa- 
tion of  their  own.  The  correspondence  of  Bishop  Simpson 
discloses  some  remarkable  facts.  Thus  he  writes  to  his  wife 
from  Ohio,  in  18G3  : 

"I  find  an  overwhelming  opposition  to  The  Methodist. 
They  seem  determined  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  any 
movement  in  which  it  is  engaged.  I  scarcely  know  how 
matters  will  turn."  Dr.  Eddy,  then  editor  of  the  North- 
western Christian  Advocate,  writes  to  the  bishop  at  nearly 
the  same  time :  "  The  fact  is,  bishop,  lay  representation  has 
a  heavy  load  to  carry  in  being  in  some  sort  placed  under 
the  patronage  of  the  once  '  Ministers'  and  Laymen's  Union,' 
and  the  disloyal  corps  of  The  Methodist?  Dr.  Whedon  par- 
took of  the  prevailing  distrust.  In  his  Review,  the  same  year, 
he  asks  the  question :  "  Is  the  founding  and  support  of  peri- 
odicals for  private  objects  trenching  on  the  territories  of 


*  In  my  reply  to  Dr.  Whedon,  who  attacked  us  with  great  severity  on 
this  point,  I  said :  "  The  press  is  for  the  people.  It  is  their  only  effectual 
check  upon  those  who  are  selected  as  the  depositaries  of  power.  Through 
it  they  give  utterance  to  their  wants,  their  grievances,  and  whatever  else 
concerns  them.  A  system  of  government,  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  which 
would  permit  only  the  expression  of  its  own  (that  is,  of  official)  opinion 
would  be  a  sheer  despotism.  In  the  normal  development,  therefore,  of 
the  press,  under  the  conditions  of  freedom,  it  will  come  at  length  to  be 
the  organ  of  the  people,  by  means  of  which  they  hold  their  rulers  close- 
ly to  their  responsibilities,  and  keep  alive  in  them  a  sense  of  their  ac- 
countableness  to  public  opinion.  Especially  will  it  be  likely  to  develop 
in  this  direction  under  a  hierarchical  system,  where  the  press  is,  origi- 
nally, the  property  of  the  ministry,  and  where  the  people  have  an  inter- 
est of  their  own  to  represent  and  promote." — The  Methodist,  Sept.  5, 
1863,  p.  27G.  ■ 


414  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

the  periodicals  of  the  Church,  and  infringing  upon  our  legal 
system,  loyal?"  *  These  promoters  of  lay  delegation  were, 
like  the  ancient  Christians,  a  sect  everywhere  spoken  against. 
In  taking  his  position  with  us,  Bishop  Simpson  showed 
uncommon  courage.  It  was  contrary  to  the  traditions  of 
the  Church  for  a  member  of  the  episcopate  to  take  a  lead- 
ing part  in  the  discussion  of  debated  questions.  The  bishops 
were  expected  to  act  as  mediators  between  contending  par- 
ties, and  to  maintain  the  existing  system  in  its  integrity.  It 
was  unusual,  too,  for  a  bishop  to  separate  himself  from  his 
colleagues,  and  to  stand  alone  in  the  advocacy  of  measures 
whose  acceptance  by  the  Church  was  a  matter  of  doubt. 
His  mind  had  undergone  a  great  change  since  1852,  when, 
as  chairman  of  a  committee  of  the  General  Conference,  he 
had  reported  against  the  expediency  of  lay  delegation. 
From  1852  to  1860  he  had  been  a  careful  observer  of  events. 
The  liability  of  the  General  Conference  to  be  swept  by 
storms  of  passion  alarmed  him;  he  felt  the  necessity  of 
some  means  of  arresting  precipitate  action.  No  plan  seemed 
to  him  so  feasible  as  that  of  having  the  important  measures 
of  a  Conference  voted  upon  by  two  classes  of  delegates,  the 
lay  and  the  ministerial.  For  this  purpose,  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  he  preferred  a  Conference  composed  of  two  houses. 
These  were  his  convictions  ;  but  in  his  determination  to 
take  an  active  part  in  the  discussion  which  must  inevitably 
precede  such  an  important  change,  he  was  greatly  influenced 
by  a  few  close  personal  friends.  Among  these,  no  one,  per- 
haps, did  more  to  decide  him  than  the  gentle  but  resolute 
Daniel  L.  Ross,  of  New  York.  Mr.  Ross  was  one  of  the 
earliest  friends  of  lay  delegation,  and  also  one  of  the  trus- 
tees of  The  Methodist.  Early  in  1S63  he  wrote  to  the  bish- 
op as  follows : 


*  It  is  but  fair  to  say  that  we  came  very  soon  to  a  good  understanding 
with  Dr.  Eddy,  and  that  Dr.  Whedon's  objections  to  the  managers  of  the 
lay  movement  were  in  time  withdrawn. 


AN  APPEAL   TO   THE  BISHOP.  415 

"  After  reflecting  a  good  deal  on  the  subject,  I  cannot  see 
what  objection  there  can  be  in  your  taking  a  decided  stand 
on  the  subject  of  lay  delegation.  We  understand  you  to 
believe  it  to  be  for  the  interest  of  the  Church,  and  if  it  is  it 
ought  to  be  advocated.  On  other  subjects  you  would  not 
hesitate  for  a  moment,  if  it  was  convenient  for  you  to  at- 
tend a  meeting.  We  need  some  distinguished  name,  and 
the  desires  of  all  the  brethren  point  to  you.  It  seems  to 
me  nothing  can  be  lost,  and  very  much  gained  by  your  cast- 
ing your  influence  with  the  laymen.  Besides,  the  more  good 
and  true  men  are  found  in  the  movement,  the  more  it  will 
go  on  to  the  interest  of  the  Church.  I  know  it  is  not  Meth- 
odistical  for  a  bishop  to  enter  into  a  progressive  movement, 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  we  must  carry  on  the  thing  brave- 
ly, or  it  will  fail  of  success.  Do  give  your  consent  to  speak, 
unless  you  see  grave  objections,  which,  if  you  do,  I  must 
give  up  my  opinions  for  yours." 

=  And,  again,  in  a  letter  before  this :  "  Believing  it  (lay  del- 
egation) to  be  for  the  great  good  of  the  Church,  I  do  think 
your  name  should  be  used,  and  your  influence  given,  openly 
and  ardently,  for  it.  In  a  brief  time  it  will  succeed ;  and  I 
am  sure  you  will  stand  first  in  the  hearts  of  a  hundred 
thousand  laymen,  which  may  go  to  balance  some  opposition 
you  will  of  course  meet." 

These  letters  were  written  by  Mr.  Koss  to  Bishop  Simpson 
while  our  first  public  meeting  was  preparing ;  I  mean  that 
held  in  the  John  Street  Methodist  Church,  New  York,  March, 
1863.  The  correspondence  with  Mr.  Koss  must  have  had  some 
effect  on  the  bishop's  mind,  for  he  accepted  the  invitation  to 
address  the  laymen  there  assembled.  His  address  shows  that 
he  felt  the  perilousness  of  his  venture— and  it  was  perilous  for 
him— for  he  dwelt  much  upon  the  importance  of  preserving  a 
pacific  temper  while  meeting  opposition.  A  happy  illustration 
expressed  what  he  wished  to  see.  Closely  connected  with  this 
was  a  well-deserved  tribute  to  the  fidelity  of  the  laymen  who 
had  been  engaged  in  promoting  lay  delegation  since  1852 : 


416  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"  I  have  admired  the  patience,  the  brotherly  kindness,  the 
watchfulness  of  the  men  who  have  been  engaged  in  this 
movement,  and  whatever  I  may  have  felt,  at  .any  time,  of 
doubtfulness  with  regard  to  the  attachment  of  any  advo- 
cating this  change  to  the  great  interests  of  the  Church,  the 
very  fact  of  their  continued  labor  for  the  Church  must  have 
completely  removed  any  such  notion  from  my  mind.  And 
when  I  look  abroad,  I  see  the  churches  which,  I  think,  are 
most  deeply  imbued  with  this  spirit  to-day  among  the  most 
active  in  all  the  great  operations  of  Methodism.  Well,  now, 
I  desire  to  see  this  state  of  things  continue,  and  I  trust  that 
it  is  the  will  of  this  assembly,  of  these  brothers  here,  not  to 
destroy  a  single  element  of  Methodism,  not  to  impair  or  to 
overthrow,  but  simply  to  strengthen,  to  perfect,  to  adorn. 
I  live  out  in  the  West,  where  a  city  has  grown  up  with  al- 
most magical  rapidity.  As  I  walk  along  the  streets  of  that 
city,  I  sometimes  notice  a  whole  block  undergoing  a  process 
of  elevation.  A  little  opening  is  made,  a  beam,  a  screw  in- 
serted ;  all  along  the  foundation,  and  all  around  the  build- 
ings there  are  placed  hundreds  of  these  screws,  which  are 
made  to  turn  in  perfect  harmony  together,  and  to  raise  the 
edifice.  Whole  blocks  of  buildings  are  elevated,  and,  sirs, 
merchants  are  selling  their  goods  all  the  time,  the  families 
are  taking  their  meals  and  sleeping  quietly  in  their  homes 
all  the  time.  There  is  no  disturbance,  and  yet  you  pass  along 
after  a  while,  and  the  house  has  gone  up  one  story  higher, 
beautified,  and  made  more  capacious.  So,  that  is  what  I 
want  to  see  you  laymen  do.  I  want  to  see  the  whole  edifice 
raised  up  without  jostling  or  jarring  one  single  arrangement. 
Let  us  live  in  the  edifice,  labor,  pray,  preach,  watch,  save 
souls ;  but  at  the  same  time  I  shall  be  very  much  pleased 
to  see  it  enlarged,  beautified,  and  made  worthy  of  the  age 
in  which  we  live." 

To  this  The  Methodist  promptly  responded  :  "  Nothing 
could  be  better  timed  than  Bishop  Simpson's  counsel  to  the 
laymen  to  carry  on  their  reform  movement  concurrently 


TEE  JOEN  STREET  MEETING.  417 

with  a  peaceful  administration  of  all  the  interests  of  the 
Church.  This,  since  1852,  they  have  done,  and  this  we 
know  they  mean  to  do  to  the  end.  They  will  raise  the 
edifice  of  Methodism  a  whole  story  higher,  by  giving  it  a 
new  substruction,  while  the  busy  throngs  that  people  it  are 
plying  their  appointed  tasks.  The  calmness,  the  patience 
with  which  the  advocates  of  lay  representation  have  pressed 
their  reform  upon  the  conscience  of  the  Church  are  the  best 
guarantee  that  they  will  labor  in  the  same  spirit  till  they 
reach  the  consummation  of  their  hopes."  * 

The  John  Street  meeting  was,  however,  intended  to  be 
preliminary  to  another ;  it  was  a  trial,  if  we  may  say  so,  of 
the  temper  of  the  Church.  The  result  of  the  trial  was  favor- 
able, and  on  the  1st  of  April,  1863,  a  call  was  issued  for  a 
convention  to  be  held  in  St.  Paul's  Methodist  Church,  New 
York.  The  convention  was  accordingly  held,  May  13th  and 
11th,  and  was  addressed,  among  others,  by  Bishop  Simpson. 
His  tone  in  this  speech  is  more  decided,  and  he  avows  in  it 
his  conviction  that  only  the  concession  of  lay  representa- 
tion will  give  peace  to  the  Church.  Some  of  its  passages 
are  of  historic  value : 

"  Now  we  look  from  this  Church  of  ours  into  other  churches.  Take 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  has  had  its  difficulties,  but  they  have  al- 
ways been  on  points  of  doctrine.  If  we  look  at  the  Episcopal  Church, 
it  has  had  its  difficulties,  but  they  grew  out  of  questions  of  church  order 
— the  high  and  low.  But  if  we  turn  to  our  Church,  the  difficulties  seem, 
whatever  questions  may  arise,  before  they  pass  away,  to  touch  the  other 
question  of  lay  and  clerical  influence.  I  ask  myself:  'Why  is  this? 
Why  should  this  peculiar  difficulty  recur,  and  repeatedly,  in  Methodism  V 
As  thoughtful  men  we  must  meet  it.  To  myself  the  solution  is  found 
here :  Methodism  was  from  its  beginning,  and  is  in  its  nature,  the  up- 
rising and  development  of  lay  influence.  What  were  the  laity  in  the 
churches  prior  to  Mr.  Wesley's  great  movement  in  England  ?  I  speak  of 
the  English  churches.  What  did  they  do?  What  part  did  they  take  ? 
The  minister  conducted  the  services.  There  were  no  church  officers  in 
the  sense  of  our  modern  church  officers  to  exercise  anything  like  spirit- 


*  The  Methodist,  March  21,  1863. 

27 


418  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

ual  functions.  Mr.  Wesley's  great  movement  called  lay  influence  into 
exercise  iu  the  Church.  Class-leaders  were  appointed,  stewards  were 
called  into  action,  exhorters  were  licensed,  local  preachers  were  selected, 
and  there  came  up  out  of  the  ranks  of  the  Church  a  body  of  laymen  to 
spread  personal  holiness  through  the  Church.  And  what  was  the  nature 
of  the  attack  made  on  Methodism  ?  It  was  attacked  on  this  very  ground 
— that  it  was  profaning  holy  things;  that  it  was  calling  laymen  to  the 
exercise  of  ecclesiastical  functions — and  if  you  read  the  records  of  those 
times,  and  the  history  of  the  contests  of  those  times,  you  will  find  that 
Wesley  and  the  early  Methodists  were  charged  with  this  special  crime 
of  intruding  men  into  the  sacred  office  who  were  unfit  for  the  position, 
and  of  giving  to  laymen  a  part  of  the  conduct  of  ecclesiastical  affairs. 

"  Methodism  not  only  did  this,  but  it  came  to  the  people  teaching 
every  man  to  work.  It  called  upon  the  men  to  pray ;  it  called  upon  the 
women  to  speak ;  and  long  before  the  days  when  women's  rights  were 
talked  about,  Mr.  Wesley  had  our  mothers  talking  in  the  prayer-meetings 
and  in  the  class-meetings,  many  of  them  becoming  burning  and  shining 
lights  in  the  Church.  And,  sir,  I  believe  there  is  many  a  man  among  us 
who  owes  much  of  what  he  is  to  the  fact  that  his  mother  had  learned  to 
talk  in  the  Methodist  Church.  Methodism  is,  in  its  essential  action,  an 
uprising  of  the  popular  element.  Wesley  selected  many  of  his  preachers 
from  laymen.  He  called  them  to  go  and  preach  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ.  He  gathered  those  preachers  around  him,  and  he  counselled 
with  them  in  reference  to  carrying  on  his  great  work.  So  much  for  the 
usages  of  the  Church. 

"  The  first  contest  of  Methodism,  then,  was  to  secure  to  the  people  this 
position — this  working  position  in  the  Church.  Then  again,  sir,  it  came 
with  a  charm  to  the  people  in  another  way,  and  that  was  in  its  doctrines. 
It  was  a  contest  with  exclusiveness  in  religious  opinions.  It  set  forth  the 
universality  of  the  atonement — the  mode  in  which  every  man  might  be- 
come a  child  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  But  such  a  system,  pro- 
ducing a  working  people,  giving  them  the  consciousness  of  their  posi- 
tion, necessarily  leads  men  on  further.  And  where  you  place  a  barrier, 
and  say,  '  Thus  far,  but  no  farther,'  there  may  be  expected  to  be  some 
restiveness  at  that  point ;  and  Methodist  people  taught  to  work,  to  pray, 
to  sing,  to  exhort,  to  lead  class,  to  preach,  very  naturally  argue,  '  Why 
should  we  not  also  have  something  to  do  in  planning  in  the  great  arrange- 
ments of  the  Church  ?'  Is  it  a  natural  feeling?  and  will  it  not  gush  out 
from  the  very  constitution  of  the  Church  ?  And  can  it  be  otherwise  than 
that  there  should  be  an  almost  j)erpetual  friction  ? 

"  Sir,  I  believe  from  the  depths  of  my  heart  that  we  never  shall  have 
permanent  quiet,  I  believe  that  there  will  always  be  periods  of  agitation 


11 1  AM  OPPOSED   TO    CONVENTIONS:'  419 

and  threatened  schism,  until  the  laity  are  admitted  into  the  highest  as- 
semblies of  our  Church.  But  when  they  are  placed  where  the  Church 
has  its  directing  centre,  I  think  that  the  whole  friction  will  be  done 
away.  Our  wise  men  and  our  good  men,  ministers  and  laymen,  will 
sit  down  together,  with  delightful  harmony  in  all  departments  of  the 
Church,  and  I  think,  sir,  we  shall  be  free  from  friction  for  all  time  to 
come.  This,  sir,  is  one  of  the  strong  reasons  influencing  my  mind.  I 
want  peace  for  my  children.  Is  it  said,  '  Why  then  do  we  meet  here  if 
we  want  the  Church  to  be  quiet?'  I  answer,  it  is  best  for  us  to  move 
when  there  is  a  time  of  quiet.  If  we  do  not  move  while  we  have  time 
and  while  there  is  peace,  there  may  come  up  some  vexed  question  before 
we  are  aware  of  it,  some  excitement  may  arise,  and  we  may  have  the 
scenes  of '28  and  '43  re-enacted  among  us.  We  have  no  security  for  the 
permanent  peace  of  our  Church  but  in  the  introduction  of  the  lay  ele- 
ment; and  I  believe  that  will  give  us  peace. 

"  There  is  another  reason  why  I  favor  lay  representation  that  may 
seem  a  little  novel  at  first  to  you.  It  is  this — I  favor  lay  representation 
because  I  am  ojsposed  to  conventions.  It  has  been  said  that  conventions 
are  dangerous.  I  admit  their  danger.  There  is  danger  in  all  irregular 
action.  There  are  sometimes  words  uttered  and  there  may  be  acts  per- 
formed that  are  not  in  harmony  precisely  with  the  spirit  of  our  institu- 
tions. But  how  are  they  to  be  prevented.  May  I  ask  these  my  brethren, 
and  through  them  friends  who  possibly  may  hear,  has  it  occurred  to  you 
there  never  has  been  a  call,  so  far  as  I  know,  for  a  convention  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  ?  I  have  never  heard  of  a  call 
for  a  convention  of  Baptist  laymen  in  this  country.  I  have  never  heard 
of  the  calling  of  a  convention  of  Presbyterian  laymen  in  this  country  ;  I 
have  never  heard  of  the  calling  of  a  convention  of  laymen  in  any  Church 
that  I  know  of  in  the  United  States  except  in  the  Methodist  Church. 
But  we  have  had  our  conventions — we  have  had  them  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century  every  now  and  then.  Conventions  in  the  days  of 
radicalism,  conventions  in  the  days  of  '  Scottism'  (I  use  the  expression 
simply  as  expressive),  conventions  of  anti-slavery  men,  conventions  of 
this  and  that  form.  Why  is  it  ?  Simply,  as  I  understand  it,  because 
there  is  no  other  way  in  which  the  laymen  can  give  expression  to  their 
views.  [Applause.]  Why  is  it  that  other  Protestant  churches  have  not 
had  these  conventions  ?  They  have  laymen  associated  in  council  with 
the  ministry,  and  they  can  express  their  views  so  that  there  is  no  need  of 
their  going  outside  to  do  so,  and  they  do  not  go  outside.  But  when  an 
excitement  arises  and  a  question  comes  up  in  our  Church,  either  the  lay- 
men must  keep  silence  or  they  must  go  outside  to  discuss  it.  So  long  as 
the  present  order  of  things  continues  we  are  perpetuating  conventions 


420  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

in  the  Church.  And  instead  of  being  opposed  to  conventions,  by  op- 
posing lay  delegation,  I  think  I  destroy  the  necessity  of  conventions 
altogether  by  saying  to  the  laymen,  '  Come  inside  and  counsel  with  us, 
and  let  us  act  together  and  not  separately.'     [Applause.] 

"  I  have  another  reason  for  lay  representation.  I  am  opposed  to  all 
innovations  of  any  magnitude  in  our  Church  economy.  And  yet  I  know 
that  this  very  movement  is  termed  the  greatest  of  innovations.  But,  sir, 
what  is  there  that  can  give  us  greater  security  than  the  introduction  of 
the  lay  element  ?  Is  there  any  organized  government  that  is  safe  with  a 
single  legislative  body,  composed  of  a  single  order  of  men  of  the  same 
employments,  and  chosen  in  the  same  way?  What  means  this  almost 
universal  conviction  of  our  race  as  to  government,  of  the  propriety  of 
what  may  be  termed  an  upper  and  a  lower  house,  of  a  house  of  commons 
and  a  house  of  peers?  What  means  this  disposition  to  have  separate 
bodies — a  House  of  Representatives  and  Senate  ?  Is  it  not  that  they 
wish  to  examine  matters  from  different  points  of  view  ?  Men  elected  at 
different  periods,  men  elected  from  wider  districts  and  having  different 
interests, come  together;  they  see  subjects  in  different  aspects  and  throw 
new  light  upon  them.  Now  the  wisdom  of  such  combination  is  shown 
in  the  fact  that  all  governments  prosper  better  with  two  elements.  I  care 
not  what  the  form  may  be.  Ministers  necessarily,  as  a  body  of  men,  are 
moved  by  a  common  impulse.  Looking  at  things  as  we  do  from  one 
point,  we  are  liable  to  sudden  excitements,  moving  us  just  as  other  classes 
of  men  are  moved.  We  seem  to  require  that  there  should  be  some  other 
element  in  some  way  to  come  in  and  give  us  the  kind  of  stability  that 
mankind  look  for  in  a  perfect  legislative  body.  Bring  in  the  lay  element 
— it  is  composed  of  men  no  wiser  and  no  better  than  ministers,  but  they 
are  trained  to  look  at  subjects  in  a  different  light.  They  are  business 
men,  and  when  missionary  or  educational  or  financial  questions  come  up, 
as  they  must  in  our  great  bodies,  they  will  help  us  to  look  at  them  from 
all  points  of  view.  And  while  as  ministers  we  are  more  competent  to 
discuss  theological  questions  than  our  brethren  in  the  laity  (shame  on  us 
if  we  were  not  when  we  give  our  time  and  hearts  to  these  subjects  and 
claim  a  divine  call),  they  are  far  more  competent  than  we  to  discuss  fi- 
nancial and  business  questions.  In  my  own  business  I  consult  these  lay 
brethren  rather  than  rely  on  my  own  judgment.  As  a  minister  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  I  want,  in  great  financial  measures,  to  go  to  my  lay 
brethren;  I  want  to  ask  them  what  they  think  upon  these  great  subjects 
and  great  plans.  I  want  them  side  by  side  with  the  ministry,  and  I 
would  defer  to  their  judgment  in  business  as  they  defer  to  mine  in  the- 
ology.    [Applause.] 

"Now,  brethren, in  bringing  this  second  element  into  the  Church — and 


LAY  DELEGATION  A    QUESTION  OF  EXPEDIENCY.     421 

especially  if,  as  was  suggested  in  the  Episcopal  Address,  at  the  last  Gen- 
eral Conference,  or  if,  as  is  done  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
our  own  country,  on  all  questions  of  moment  the  vote  of  the  ministry  is 
taken  separately,  and  the  vote  of  the  laity  separately,  and  there  must  be 
a  concurrent  majority  to  pass  any  measure,  what  will  be  the  effect  ?  Here 
are  the  ministers  who  compose  the  General  Conference.  No  measure  can 
be  passed  through  unless  they  vote  for  it.  Here  are  the  laity  whom  you 
introduce  into  the  General  Conference.  No  measure  can  be  passed  there 
unless  they  vote  for  it.  Now  in  a  moment  of  sudden  excitement  my  min- 
isterial brethren  might  go  for  a  measure  which  my  lay  brethren  might 
not  approve,  and  my  lay  brethren  might  be  in  favor  of  a  measure  which 
my  ministerial  brethren  would  disapprove ;  but  if  I  could  find  a  majority 
of  both  my  ministerial  and  lay  brethren  in  favor  of  the  same  measure,  I 
think  I  should  feel  that  that  measure  would  be  more  likely  to  be  right 
than  if  either  laymen  or  ministers  alone  had  adopted  it. 

"  Take  the  General  Conference,  composed,  as  it  must  be,  of  so  many 
ministers.  Whatever  they  are  opposed  to  being  done  now  they  could  for- 
ever prevent  being  done.  In  the  General  Conference  nothing  could  be  done 
without  the  consent  of  the  same  body  of  men  who  now  make  the  laws. 
Will  any  point  of  our  economy  be  in  danger  ?  It  never  can  be  touched 
but  by  a  vote  of  the  ministry  ;  but  in  addition  to  that  the  ministry  might 
want  to  change  something,  and  a  majority  of  the  laymen  might  be  un- 
willing to  consent  to  it.  The  result  would  be  that  the  laity  might  lock 
the  ministry,  and  the  ministry  might  lock  the  laity,  and  the  Church  be 
kept  more  permanently  just  where  it  is.  It  might  be  opposed  to  prog- 
ress, but  it  would  certainly  be  opposed  to  innovation.  I  want  to  leave 
this  Church  in  its  great  outlines  to  my  children  as  my  parents  left  it  to 
me.  I  look  with  deep  interest  to  this  very  element  of  lay  representa- 
tion in  our  General  Conference  to  guard  against  possible  changes  in  the 
future. 

"  Such  are  my  feelings  on  this  subject.  I  look  at  this  question  in  the 
light  of  expediency.  I  am  not  disposed  to  discuss,  brethren,  the  ques- 
tion of  right  at  all.  If  this  Convention  would  bear  suggestions  from  me, 
I  wouid  say  in  my  career  through  life  I  have  noticed  that  the  bitterest 
contest  comes  up  when  you  undertake  to  talk  about  being  deprived  of 
rights  or  about  making  demands.  I  doubt  whether  it  is  wisdom  for  you 
to  come  up  to  me  and  say  in  strong  language,  '  You  shall  do  so  and  so, 
you  are  withholding  from  me  my  rights.'  There  is  something  in  my 
nature — whether  it  ought  to  be  there  or  not  is  another  question — that 
says  you  ought  not  to  talk  so,  and  I  will  not  hear  you ;  but  if  you  come 
up  to  me  and  reason  with  me  as  to  the  effect,  of  my  conduct,  I  will  be 
disposed  to  listen,  and  you  will  be  very  likely  to  bring  me  to  your  views. 


422  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Hence  I  would  say  to  my  brethren,  be  cautious  in  expressing  yourselves 
on  this  subject ;  whatever  may  be  abstract  principle  or  abstract  right, 
the  great  question  with  us  all  is  what  can  we  do  to  promote  the  efficiency 
of  the  Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?  ['  Amen  '  and  applause.]  That 
is  the  simple  question. 

"  Had  I  my  brethren  of  the  ministry  here  to-day,  as  I  have  taken  the 
liberty  to  counsel  you  on  the  one  hand,  I  would  counsel  them  on  the 
other.  I  would  say  to  them,  Why  intimate  that  there  is  any  danger  to 
arise  from  introducing  the  laity  into  the  general  council  of  the  Church  ? 
Why  is  it  ?  Is  it  because  the  laity  have  not  wisdom  enough  to  plan  gen- 
eral measures?  That  cannot  be.  Is  it  because  the  laity  do  not  love 
the  Church  I  We  were  all  laymen  once.  I  know  I  loved  the  Church 
just  as  dearly  before  she  set  me  apart  for  her  ministry  as  I  ever  have 
since,  and  I  believe  our  lay  brethren  love  the  Church.  Is  it  said  that  our 
itinerancy  is  in  danger  or  anything  else  in  danger  from  them  ?  Why  so  ? 
How  have  they  learned  their  attachment  to  Methodism  ?  It  was  through 
the  influence  of  Gospel  teachings.  What  a  commentary  will  it  be  upon 
our  labors,  if,  after  one  hundred  years  of  toil  in  this  country,  we  have 
not  been  able  to  gather  a  laity  together  who  love  the  economy  of  our 
Church !  It  seems  to  me  it  would  be  a  reproach  upon  our  labors  to 
say  so. 

"The  laymen  have  been  taught  and  indoctrinated  by  us;  they  have 
imbibed  our  spirit,  and  if  they  do  not  love  the  Church,  pray,  who  ever 
will  ?  Must  it  be  that  a  Church  shall  be  afraid  of  its  members  ?  Sir,  I 
am  not  afraid  of  the  members  of  the  Church.  [Applause.]  I  should 
feel  that  my  fathers,  my  brethren,  and  myself  had  been  doing  but  a  poor 
work  if  we  had  not  a  Ciiurch  around  us  in  whose  judgment  and  whose 
piety  we  could  trust.  But  is  it  said  there  is  no  distrust  of  them  ?  Why 
not  let  them  sit  by  our  side  ?  Hide  it  as  we  will,  cover  it  over  with  spe- 
cious words  as  we  may,  there  is  at  the  bottom  of  this,  though  not  con- 
fessed to  the  heart,  the  feeling  that  there  is  danger  in  trusting  the  people. 
Is  that  to  be  forever  so  ?  Does  Christianity  rest  on  such  a  feeble  founda- 
tion that  you  cannot  trust  Christian  people  with  its  institutions  ?  Is 
Methodism  afraid  to  trust  the  people  ?  Are  the  people  too  ignorant  to 
comprehend  the  value  of  its  system?  or  is  the  system  so  defective  that 
we  fear  the  people  would  change  it?  If  it  is  unsafe  to  trust  the  i)eople 
with  the  system,  either  the  people  or  the  system  must  be  in  fault.  So 
monarchs  thought  that  people  could  not  be  trusted ;  but  the  great  idea 
of  the  age  is,  in  civil  government,  the  people,  educated,  intelligent,  and 
trained,  ought  to  have  power  in  their  hands.  In  the  state  there  may  bo 
a  question  sometimes  whether  the  inebriate,  the  wicked,  the  vicious,  and 
the  degraded  ought  to  have  power.     That  might  seem  to  be  a  possible 


THE  NEED    OF  PATIENCE.  423 

question ;  but  when  you  stand  side  by  side  with  your  brethren,  and  say, 
'These  are  the  sons  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ,  these  are  men  who  have 
hearts  united  to  God  by  living  faith,  these  are  men  who  are  washed  and 
purified  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  these  are  seals  to  our  ministry,'  are  they 
not  men  who  can  be  trusted  with  all  the  institutions  of  our  Church  ? 
Now  I  would  say  to  my  brethren  in  the  ministry,  if  I  had  their  ear,  Why 
stand  in  such  an  attitude  that  the  people  feel  that  you  distrust  them  ? 
What  is  the  consequence  ? 

"If  I  understand  human  nature,  it  is  this:  if  a  man  distrusts  me,  or  if 
I  fancy  he  distrusts  me,  that  man  loses  just  so  far  his  influence  over  me; 
if  he  distrusts  me,  he  cannot  take  me  to  his  heart  so  fully  as  if  I  felt  he 
considered  me  to  be  true,  and  that  I  would  not  betray  a  trust.  If  the 
laity  of  the  Church  feel  from  any  cause  that  the  ministry  cannot  fully 
confide  in  them ;  if  they  think  that  the  ministry  look  upon  them  as  a 
body  of  men  who  would  overturn  the  foundations  of  the  Church,  who 
would  sweep  away  the  old  landmarks,  whose  sympathies  are  not  with 
the  Church,  does  not  this  beget  mutual  distrust  ?  Do  not  ministers  and 
people  become  alienated  ?  Do  not  these  manifestations  of  distrust  pre- 
vent the  full  power  of  our  Church  from  being  exercised  on  the  world  ? 
I  think  when  the  whole  ministry  shall  feel  as  the  Maine  Conference  felt 
and  acted,  there  will  be  a  great  change.  A  year  ago  the  Maine  Confer- 
ence voted  upon  the  question  of  lay  delegation.  Thirty  were  for,  and 
forty-nine  against,  lay  representation.  At  the  recent  Conference  which 
I  attended,  a  committee  was  appointed  upon  this  subject.  Professor 
Vail,  of  the  Biblical  School  at  Concord,  was  chairman  of  the  committee. 
He  brought  in  a  report,  which  many  of  you  have  read,  taking  the  ground 
that  the  membership  ought  to  be  urged  to  come  in,  and  share  with  us  in 
our  labors  and  responsibilities.  I  expected  to  see  a  division  in  the  Con- 
ference, and  a  debate.  The  report  was  read,  a  number  of  brethren  said 
'Amen'  in  different  parts  of  the  house,  the  matter  was  put  to  a  vote,  a 
large  number  of  hands  were  uplifted,  and  when  I  called  for  the  contrary 
vote  there  was  not  a  single  hand  raised.  [Applause.]  You  could  not 
say  that  Conference  did  not  do  its  part.  The  General  Conference  simply 
say, '  You  may  come  in.'  That  Conference  went  further,  and  said, '  Breth- 
ren, you  mast  come  in  and  help  us.'1  I  speak  of  that  simply  to  show  what 
is  moving  in  the  mind  of  the  Church. 

"I  must  say,  Mr.  President,  one  other  thing  to  these  brethren — don't 
be  in  a  hurry.  God  moves  slowly  in  his  providences.  Great  changes 
require  time.  Be  in  no  hurry,  do  your  duty,  work  earnestly,  stand  firm- 
ly, bear  obloquy  if  necessary,  don't  be  afraid  of  censure.  The  man  who 
is  in  the  right  can  bear  censure  for  a  time  ;  the  future  will  vindicate  him, 
but  even  if  there  is  no  vindication  in  this  world,  all  is  clear  light  on  high. 


424  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

If  your  motives  are  impugned,  it  is  only  for  a  few  clays  at  most;  all  will 
be  clear  by  and  by,  and  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  will  know  what 
was  the  motive  that  influenced  men  to  take  whatever  course  they  did. 
If  it  was  any  selfish  motive,  his  curse  will  rest  upon  them  ;  if  it  was  sim- 
ply to  promote  his  glory,  the  one  smile  from  Jehovah's  countenance  in 
eternity  will  more  than  repay  for  all  the  censure  heaped  upon  them. 
Then  stand  firmly,  but  be  patient. 

"  And  yet,  for  myself,  I  would  say  that  if  the  matter  could  be  carried 
speedily  I  should  rejoice.  How  speedily  it  can  be  carried,  I  do  not 
know.  I  have  heard  my  brethren  say,  it  is  a  question  of  time ;  it  will 
come  some  time,  but  it  is  not  best  just  now.  I  sometimes  say,  If  it  must 
come,  why  not  now  ?  Why  have  all  the  agitation  which  must  attend  de- 
lay? If  it  is  a  change  that  must  come,  why  not  make  it  when  we  can 
arrange  it  most  calmly  ?  If  it  must  come,  why  not  make  the  time  now, 
and  bring  it  near.  It  seems  to  me  it  is  wisdom  to  do  so.  Yet,  this  very 
point  is  an  encouragement  to  you  to  wait.  If  it  must  come,  you  can  af- 
ford to  wait." 

I  do  not  know  whether  Bishop  Simpson  really  expected 
that  the  antagonism  to  lay  delegation  would  be  either  with- 
out force  or  free  from  angry  expression.  His  kindliness  of 
heart  did  disarm  much  antagonism,  but  he  himself  became 
the  object  of  attack  as  well  as  the  rest  of  us.  The  oppo- 
nents found  an  organ  in  the  Christian  Advocate,  then,  as 
now,  the  chief  representative  of  the  Church.  Its  amiable 
editor,  Doctor,  afterwards  Bishop,  Edward  Thomson,  was 
completely  helpless  in  the  hands  of  the  men  by  whom  he 
was  surrounded.  A  correspondent  of  that  paper,  who  signed 
himself  "  Timothy,"  distinguished  himself  for  scurrility. 
Dr.  Whedon,  in  the  Jul}7  Quarterly  Review,  made  an  assault 
on  the  movement  as  an  effort  to  wrest  from  the  itinerant 
the  honors,  a  title  to  which  he  had  earned  by  toil  and  sac- 
rifice. He  represented  such  an  itinerant  as  saying,  "  I  did 
once  hope  that  by  faithfulness  and  perseverance  and  pa- 
tience under  penniless  toil  I  might  purchase  a  good  degree, 
and  even  one  day  take  a  seat  with  my  honored  brethren  in 
the  General  Conference.  But,  alas  !  that  honor  is  now 
claimed  by  Judge  Such-a-one,  or  Ex-Senator  Such-a-one,  or 
Governor  Such-a-one.     My  unpaid  labors  have  at  last  made 


THE  SHOCKING   OF   OLD  PREJUDICES.  425 

the  place  honorable,  and  they  are  now  ready  to  snatch  its 
honors.  One  would  think  that  they  had  routes  to  dignity 
and  emolument  enough  without  running  me  off  the  track. 
I  wish  that  folks  who  so  adore  the  itinerancy  had  a  particle 
or  two  of  sympathy  for  the  itinerant.  But  I,  poor  fellow, 
am  to  be  crowded  out."  "  Yes,  dear  brother,"  answers  the 
editor  of  the  Review,  "your  chance  is  slim;  for  these 
metropolitans  are  millionaire  and  you  are  all  sixpenny." 
Throughout  the  long  years  from  1861  to  1872,  the  argumen- 
tum  ad  invidiam — the  appeal  to  odium — was  plied  to  the 
utmost,  but  it  failed,  as  it  deserved  to  fail. 

Enough,  however,  of  all  this,  and  perhaps  the  reader  will 
be  ready  to  say,  more  than  enough.  The  picture  of  the 
Church  as  it  was  in  1863  would  not  be  complete  were  these 
facts  suppressed.  Old  prejudices  were  shocked ;  old  tradi- 
tions were  threatened;  the  distribution  of  powers  in  the 
Church  was  to  be  changed ;  the  ministers,  honest  to  the 
core,  and  persuaded  that  the  settlement  of  1828  was  both 
scriptural  and  final,  were  amazed  to  hear  it  questioned  by 
brother  ministers.  The  itinerancy  had,  in  many  minds, 
taken  the  rank  of  a  divine  institution,  and  the  saying,  as 
old  as  Bishop  Asbury,  that  itinerancy  and  lay  delegation 
are  incompatible  with  each  other,  was  repeated  with  as 
much  confidence  as  if  it  were  one  of  the  verities  of  Christ's 
gospel.  Even  the  candid  personal  confession  which  Bishop 
Simpson  made  in  his  St.  Paul's  address  did  not  quiet  the 
fears  nor  check  the  harangues  of  the  alarmists. 

"  Allow  me  a  word  or  two  personally.  I  had  thought  upon  this  sub- 
ject for  years;  I  had  looked  over  it  until  my  mind  was  satisfied,  and  I 
expressed  it  to  my  most  intimate  friends  that  lay  representation  was  the 
greatest  want  of  the  Church.  As  you  know,  I  went  abroad  a  few  years 
ago,  and  was  taken  ill.  I  doubted  whether  I  should  get  home.  I  reached 
my  home,  however,  and  lay  sick  for  a  length  of  time,  on  a  bed  from 
which  my  friends  thought  I  would  never  rise.  I  looked  over  the  Church. 
I  determined,  God  helping  me,  if  I  had  strength  enough  before  the  dying 
moment  came,  to  issue  an  address  to  the  Church  on  this  question  of  lay 
representation.     I  went  so  far  as  to  prepare  the  outlines  of  it,  designing 


426  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

to  have  it  filled  up  while  I  had  sufficient  strength.  God  was  pleased  in 
his  mercy  to  spare  me  a  little  longer  to  my  family.  I  was  raised  again 
from  my  bed  of  sickness.  I  laid  the  matter  aside,  waiting  until  in  the 
providence  of  God  there  should  be  occasion  for  it,  and  I  said  no  more. 
I  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  last  summer,  after  having  had  a  very  sud- 
den and  severe  attack,  which  my  friends  feared  would  terminate  my  use- 
fulness and  active  labor.  I  found  myself  in  travelling  exposed  to  danger 
and  disease,  and  I  knew  not  whether  I  should  return  or  not.  "While  on 
that  Pacific  coast,  I  resolved  to  send  back  to  the  church  papers  of  our 
denomination  the  declaration  that  I  believed  that  lay  representation  was 
needed  for  the  benefit  of  our  Church.     [Applause.] 

"I  did  it,  sir,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  myself  on  the  record,  and  if  I 
had  aught  of  influence  among  my  friends,  to  say  to  them,  if  I  never  should 
have  a  chance  of  speaking  to  them  personally  again, '  If  you  wish  for  the 
unity,  the  prosperity,  and  the  perpetuity  of  our  Church,  admit  lay  rep- 
resentation.' "Well,  sir,  I  am  here  among  you,  spared,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  to  labor  a  little  longer,  with  health  in  which  I  am  able  to  do 
something  more  for  the  Church,  whether  it  shall  please  the  Church  to 
keep  me  where  I  am  or  to  use  me  in  any  other  way.  In  my  youth,  I  gave 
myself  to  that  Church  in  a  covenant  never  to  be  forgotten.  God  helping 
me,  I  shall  live  for  that  Church,  and  tell  it  what  I  think  best  for  it,  ac- 
cording to  the  light  given  to  me,  as  long  as  God  lets  me  live.     ['  Amen.'] 

"  '  For  her  my  tears  shall  fall, 

For  her  my  prayers  ascend, 
To  her  my  cares  and  toils  be  given, 
Till  toils  and  cares  shall  end.'  " 

"And  I  can  say  more,  that  as  sure  as  God  reigns  in  heaven,  and  we  are 
faithful  to  our  charge,  God  will  give  us  a  gloriously  increasing  heritage. 
"We  have  the  doctrines,  the  usages,  and  the  general  economy ;  and  all  we 
want  is  more  unity,  more  efficiency,  and  more  power  to  take  hold,  shoul- 
der to  shoulder,  and  accomplish  the  great  work  we  have  on  hand." 

This  confession,  the  fruit  of  much  meditation  and  of  his 
conferences  with  the  lay  delegation  leaders,  was  a  committal 
to  the  cause  of  the  minority,  which  he  never  shrank  from 
repeating  whenever  an  occasion  called  for  its  repetition. 

Here  is  not  the  place  for  a  history  of  the  lay  movement. 
It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  resolutions  of  the  St.  Paul's 
convention  contained  a  call  for  another  convention  to  meet 
simultaneously  with  the  General  Conference  of  18G4.     This 


STRONG  REINFORCEMENTS.  427 

was  a  daring  step  for  the  time ;  its  purpose,  however,  of 
bringing  the  laymen  and  the  General  Conference  face  to 
face,  was  accomplished.  The  personal  hostility  to  Bishop 
Simpson  for  his  connection  with  us  culminated  at  this  Con- 
ference, and  then  broke,  never  to  rally  again.  Threats  had 
been  made  to  bring  him  to  judgment  for  his  advocacy  of  a 
revolutionary  measure,  but  the  leader  of  the  assault  found, 
when  the  General  Conference  assembled,  that  he  was  barely 
able  to  take  care  of  himself.  Franklin  Rand,  of  Boston, 
always  upright  and  downright,  wrote  to  the  bishop.  May  31, 
1804 :  "  I  was  at  the  laymen's  convention ;  sorry  I  had  no 
opportunity  of  seeing  you.  Indeed,  I  was  almost  afraid  that 
my  intimacy  with  lay  representationists  would  compromise 
you  with  some  of  the  opposing  brethren.  The  question  has 
the  elements  of  a  mighty  agitation,  if  such  an  alternative 
should  ever  become  inevitable."  After  1864  the  efforts  of 
the  bishop  in  behalf  of  lay  representation  were  less  conspic- 
uous. 

He  was  still  a  most  active  friend,  but  other  men  came 
forward  to  help  with  pen  and  voice ;  his  own  attention  was 
largely  occupied  with  the  centenary  of  American  Method- 
ism ;  the  calls  for  his  war  speech  alone  absorbed  all  the  time 
and  strength  he  could  spare  from  the  routine  duty  of  the 
episcopate.  The  subject  was  now  fairly  before  the  Church. 
The  Western  Christian  Advocate,  under  the  charge  of  Dr. 
John  M.  Beid,  and  the  North -Western,  under  Dr.  Thomas  M. 
Eddy,  and  the  Zion's  Herald,  under  Gilbert  Haven,  were 
speaking  strong  words  for  the  laity,  and  were  moulding  the 
opinions  of  their  constituents.  Dr.  Abel  Stevens  discussed 
the  subject  with  his  characteristic  energy  and  brilliance. 
But  the  burden  of  planning,  arranging,  carrying  forward, 
and  bearing  the  brunt  of  the  opposition  fell  to  the  sup- 
porters of  The  Methodist.  With  scarce  an  exception  all 
the  documents  issued  by  the  laymen  were  prepared  in  its 
office.  On  the  eve  of  the  taking  of  the  popular  vote, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  tracts  were  issued  by  its 


428  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

publishers,  and  were  eagerly  called  for  by  the  seekers  for 
information.  The  circle  of  laymen  of  which  The  Methodist 
was  the  centre  sent  out  Dr.  James  Strong  and  Mr.  Charles 
W.  Bond  as  secretaries.  These  two  gentlemen  occupied 
the  field  for  three  successive  years.  Between  1868  and 
L872  the  Church  turned  over;  the  minority  grew  into  a 
majority;  the  judicious  men,  who  meant  to  take  no  personal 
risks,  came  to  the  winning  side.  In  the  Conference  of 
1872  the  lay  delegates  quietly  took  their  seats  beside  their 
clerical  brethren ;  the  wounded  itinerancy  uttered  no  groans, 
and  the  heavens  did  not  fall. 


XIX. 

THE  YEARS   OF   PEACE. 

1865-1881. 


Peace  Restored.  —  Reunion  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  Methodist 
Churches. — Visit  of  Bishops  Janes  and  Simpson  to  the  Southern  Bish- 
ops.— A  Friendly  Meeting. — At  what  Point  shall  the  Restoration  of 
Fraternity  Begin? — Demand  that  the  Church  South  shall  be  Recog- 
nized as  Legitimate.  —  A  Deputation  to  the  Southern  General  Con- 
ference of  1874.  —  Speeches  of  our  Fraternal  Delegates.  —  Fraternal 
Messengers  from  the  South  to  our  General  Conference  of  1876. — Doctor 
Lovick  Pierce  Unable  to  Attend  in  Person. — His  Address  Read. — Rs 
Beauty  and  Christian  Spirit. — Appointment  of  a  Commission  to  Settle 
Pending  Questions. — These  Questions  Difficult. — Order  of  Secretary 
Stanton,  in  1864,  in  Relation  to  Southern  Methodist  Churches. — The 
Order  Modified. — Its  Operation. — The  Case  of  McKendree  Chapel. — 
Some  Good  Results  of  the  Order. — General  Fish's  Pacific  Policy. — 
"  Disintegration  and  Absorption." — Terms  of  Settlement  Unanimously 
Agreed  to  by  the  Joint  Commission. — Anxiety  of  Bishop  Simpson  for 
the  Success  of  Lay  Delegation.— His  Letters  on  that  Subject. — Letters 
to  his  Family  Abroad. — Trip  to  Mexico  in  1874  and  to  Europe  in  1875. 
— Preaching  through  an  Interpreter. — The  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching. 
— Starts  for  Japan  and  China  in  1880,  but  is  Taken  Sick  at  San  Fran- 
cisco.—The  Methodist  (Ecumenical  Conference,  London,  1881.— The 
Garfield  Memorial  Meeting  in  Exeter  Hall.  —  Wonderful  Effect  of 
Bishop  Simpson's  Address. 


SHALL   THE   CIIURCIIES  REUNITE?  431 


XIX. 

Never  was  peace  more  welcome  to  any  people  than,  to 
the  loyal  Americans  of  the  United  States  in  the  year  of 
grace  1865.  What  they  had  undertaken  to  do  was  now 
completely  done.  Eebellion  had  been  suppressed,  the  na- 
tional authority  had  been  vindicated,  the  Confederate  armies 
had  surrendered,  and  the  paroled  Southern  soldiers  had  gone 
to  their  homes.  There  was  no  reason  to  fear  that  the  war 
would  linger  on  in  aimless  efforts  to  maintain  a  lost  cause. 
It  was  not  forgotten  in  that  hour  of  thankfulness  that  they 
with  whom  we  had  fought  were  our  brethren — of  the  same 
nation — and  many  of  them  of  churches  holding  the  same 
creeds.  To  reunite  the  churches  of  the  North  and  the 
South  was  the  first  thought  in  the  minds  of  Northern 
Christians.  Slavery  had  torn  them  apart  from  their  South- 
ern brethren,  and,  slavery  now  gone,  why  should  they  not 
all  come  together  again?  Among  Northern  Methodists 
this  desire  for  reunion  was  peculiarly  strong.  Only  twen- 
ty years  had  passed  since  the  Church  had  been  cut  in 
twain,  and  many  of  the  men  who  had  been  conspicuous 
in  the  General  Conference  of  1844  were  still  alive.  The 
Methodist,  immediately  upon  the  cessation  of  the  war,  took 
the  ground  that  a  reunion  of  the  Northern  and  Southern 
churches  would  be  the  readiest  mode  of  settling  all  dis- 
puted questions,  and  the  best  assurance  they  could  give 
of  the  future  repose  of  the  country.  Our  bishops  were 
of  the  same  opinion,  and  in  April,  18G9,  appointed  two 
of  their  number  —  Janes  and  Simpson  —  to  visit  the 
bishops  of  the  Southern  Church  at  their  meeting  in  St. 


432  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Louis.  They  had  for  authority  the  appointment,  by  our 
General  Conference  in  1868,  of  a  commission  empowered 
to  treat  with  a  like  commission  of  any  other  Methodist 
body  that  might  desire  to  unite  with  us.  Of  this  commis- 
sion our  bishops  were  members.  They  had,  also,  as  early 
as  1865,  published  a  declaration,  saying,  "  The  great  cause 
which  had  led  to  the  separation  from  us  of  both  the  Wes- 
leyan  Methodists  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  has  passed  away,  and  we  trust  that  the  day  is  not 
far  distant  when  there  shall  be  but  one  organization,  which 
shall  embrace  the  whole  Methodist  family  of  the  United 
States."  The  letter  of  our  Episcopal  board  borne  by  their 
colleagues  notes  the  fact  that  the  Methodists  led  the  way 
in  the  separation  of  the  churches,  and  should  lead  in  re- 
storing their  unity.  "  It  is  fitting,"  say  the  bishops,  "  that 
the  Methodist  Church,  which  began  the  disunion,  should 
not  be  the  last  to  achieve  the  reunion.  And  it  would  be  a 
reproach  to  the  chief  pastors  of  the  separated  bodies  if  they 
waited  until  their  flocks  prompted  them  to  the  union,  which 
both  the  law  of  comity  and  religion  invoke,  and  which  the 
providence  of  God  seems  to  render  inevitable  at  no  distant 
day."  Our  two  fraternal  messengers  were  received  with 
all  courtesy  by  the  heads  of  Southern  Methodism.  Janes 
was  well  known  to  most  of  them,  having  been  elected  by 
the  last  undivided  General  Conference.  Once  more  they 
prayed  together,  which  was  a  good  beginning.  The  South- 
ern bishops — very  properly,  as  we  think — put  forward  the 
point  that  restored  fraternal  relations  should  begin  where 
the  effort  on  their  part  had  been  left  in  1 848. 

To  understand  this  request,  it  is  necessary  to  remind  the 
reader  that  at  our  General  Conference  of  184S  we  declared 
the  Plan  of  Separation  null  and  void,  and  had  declined  to 
receive  the  fraternal  messenger  of  the  Southern  Church,  Dr. 
Lovick  Pierce.  The  annulling  of  the  Plan  of  Separation 
made  the  Southern  Methodist  Church,  in  our  estimation, 
a  seceded  body,  and,  so  far,  an  illegitimate  family  of  Meth- 


BISHOP   SIMPSON   IN   LATER  YEARS. 


ADDIIESS   OF  BISHOP  JANES.  433 

odists.  It  was  claimed  by  the  Southern  bishops  that  as  we 
had  rejected  their  offer  of  fraternity,  it  could  be  only  re- 
newed by  us.  In  regard  to  the  mode  of  separation  of  the 
two  bodies,  they  reminded  our  messengers — Janes  and  Simp- 
son— that  they  had  separated  from  us  in  no  sense  in  which 
we  had  not  separated  from  them :  "  The  separation  was  by 
compact  and  mutual,  and  nearer  approaches  to  each  other 
can  be  conducted,  with  a  hope  of  a  successful  issue,  only  on 
this  basis."  * 

Here,  then,  on  the  very  threshold  of  the  negotiations,  was 
a  bar  to  further  progress  which  only  right  Christian  feeling 
and  good  sense  could  remove.  It  was  effectually  removed. 
Without  tarrying  to  argue  with  the  Southern  Church  the 
question  whether  slavery  was  or  was  not  the  cause  of  the 
division,  Bishops  Janes  and  Harris  visited  the  Southern 
Methodist  General  Conference,  which  met  in  Memphis  in 
May,  1870.  By  this  time  it  had  become  clear  to  our  lead- 
ers that  immediate  reunion  of  the  two  churches  was  im- 
possible. In  a  very  admirable  address  to  the  Southern  del- 
egates, Bishop  Janes  said,  "  My  understanding  is  that  the 
commission  was  deputed  to  bear  a  message,  not  to  nego- 
tiate. I  judge  that  it  was  expected  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence that  if  information  was  wanted  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  the  Church,  South,  as  to  the  views  of  the  Church 
that  we  represent,  the  commission  could  afford  it.  I  don't 
think  that  any  of  us  anticipate  that  a  perfect  organic  union 
can  be  effected  at  once.  It  cannot  be  done  without  prayer 
and  without  magnanimity  and  concessions  on  both  sides. 
The  history  of  the  past  twenty-five  years  would  not  justify 
us  in  entertaining  such  expectations.  But  I  do  believe  that 
the  prayer  of  Christ  will  be  heard,  and  that  the  time  will 
come  when  his  people  shall  be  one.  Anything  to  hasten  that 
end  should  be  done.  I  am  not  willing  to  lead  this  General 
Conference  to  any  action  not  fully  justified  by  the  action  of 


*  See  "Formal  Fraternity,"  p.  11. 
28 


431  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

the  Conference  which  I  represent.  It  would  do  injustice  to 
my  feelings  did  I  not  express  the  fact  that  it  affords  lne 
great  pleasure  to  look  on  the  countenances  of  so  many 
whom  I  knew  many  years  ago.  Thank  God  for  his  pre- 
serving kindness  to  you  all." 

Most  admirably  said.  Never  did  the  sweet  spirit  of  Bish- 
op Janes  shine  out  more  beautifully  than  on  this  occasion. 
In  saying  "  nothing  can  be  done  without  magnanimity  and 
concessions  on  both  sides,"  he  struck  the  right  thought.  In 
the  persons  of  its  representatives— Janes,  Simpson,  and  Har- 
ris— our  Church  appeared  in  its  proper  character  as  a  peace- 
maker, ready  to  heal  the  wounds  which  Avar  had  made.  In 
further  explaining  the  objects  of  the  commission,  of  which 
he  was  one,  Bishop  Janes  also  said :  "  Perhaps  we  have  tran- 
scended our  bounds  in  coming  at  the  present  time,  and  not 
waiting  to  be  first  approached  on  this  subject.  But  wTe  did 
not  think  so  highly  of  ourselves  as  to  suppose  that  all  these 
churches  should  first  knock  for  admission.  We  judged  it 
proper  to  inform  them  of  the  appointment  of  the  commis- 
sion, and  that  it  would  give  us  pleasure  to  meet  them." 

The  result  of  these  two  timely  visits  was  the  passage  of 
a  resolution  by  the  Southern  General  Conference  express- 
ing a  sincere  desire  that  the  day  might  soon  come  when 
fraternal  relations  between  Northern  and  Southern  Meth- 
odism should  be  permanently  established.  It  remained 
now  for  our  own  General  Conference  to  make  the  offer 
for  the  re-establishment  of  fraternity.  Let  us  thank  God 
that  our  beloved  Church  had  the  magnanimity  to  yield 
this  concession.  It  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Southern  Gen- 
eral Conference,  meeting  in  Louisville,  May,  1874,  bearing 
the  Christian  greetings  of  Northern  Methodism.  After 
the  soreness  "which  we  felt  when  Ave  discovered,  in  1848, 
that  in  agreeing  to  the  Plan  of  Separation  we  had  been 
out  -  manoeuvred,  outAvitted,  and,  as  Ave  said  then,  duped ; 
after  repealing  the  Plan  as  null  and  void ;  after  having 
declared  for  nearly  thirty  years  that  Southern  Methodism 


OUR  MESSENGERS    OF  PEACE.  435 

was  a  secession,  and  not  legitimately  derived  from  the 
parent  stock;  after  having  fought  out,  as  Methodist  cit- 
izens, by  thousands  and  ten  thousands,  in  the  national 
armies,  the  one  issue  which  had  divided  both  Church  and 
State,  we  asked  for  a  restored  fraternity  with  the  breth- 
ren from  whom  we  had  long  been  severed.*  "We  sought,  in 
point  of  fact,  that  the  formal  peace  of  the  country  might 
become  a  true  peace,  and  that  Christian  love  might  begin 
to  flow  once  more  in  its  accustomed  channels.  No  brighter 
chapter  in  our  ecclesiastical  history  than  this  has  been  writ- 
ten ;  no  brighter  chapter  than  this  can  be  written. 

Our  fraternal  delegates,  Dr.  Albert  S.  Hunt,  Dr.  Charles 
H.  Fowler,  and  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  were  well  chosen. 
Had  any  one  said  upon  their  departure  to  fulfil  their  mis- 
sion, "  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of 
him  that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace,"  he 
could  not  have  been  accused  of  extravagance.  Dr.  Fowler 
said  very  aptly :  "  The  speeches  we  make  this  day  may  not 
be  very  great  nor  very  weighty,  but  I  hope  they  are  worth 
something.  There  are  a  church  and  fifteen  hundred  thou- 
sand believers  back  of  them,  and  peace  and  good -will  in 
them.  In  receiving  us  you  receive  not  us,  but  them  that 
sent  us."  General  Fisk  told  the  Conference  that  a  friend 
had  offered  to  give  him  a  full  account  of  the  events  of  1844, 
especially  of  the  Plan  of  Separation,  and  he  had  replied  that 
he  preferred  to  consider  the  wonderful  plan  of  redemption. 
Dr.  Hunt  most  cordially  saluted,  in  the  presence  of  the  Con- 
ference, the  now  venerable  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  who  had  borne, 
without  result,  a  fraternal  message  to  our  General  Confer- 
ence of  1848.     Times  had  changed,  and  men  had  changed 

*  The  Plan  of  Separation  had  been  passed  on  the  assurance  of  South- 
ern delegates  that  it  would  be  used  only  as  a  last  resort,  if  they  found  on 
returning  home  that  their  people  would  no  longer  remain  in  Church  fel- 
lowship with  the  North.  It  was  charged  that,  instead  of  waiting,  they 
began  at  once,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  making  preparations  for  separa- 
ting from  us. 


436  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

in  them ;  it  was  proper  for  Dr.  Hunt  to  say  in  1S71,  "  I 
bless  God  that  he  has  spared  you  until  this  morning." 

The  way  was  now  clear  before  both  churches  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  lasting  peace.  On  our  side  we  claimed 
that  our  presence  in  the  Southern  States  was  an  unchange- 
able fact,  a  fact  which  we  would  not  alter  if  we  could. 
On  the  Southern  side  it  was  claimed  that  their  legitimacy 
as  a  Methodist  body  must  be  recognized.  Fraternal  mes- 
sengers to  our  General  Conference  were  appointed ;  and  a 
commission  was  created  to  meet  a  similar  commission  from 
us  to  settle  all  pending  disputes. 

The  appointed  messengers  came  to  us  at  Baltimore  in 
1876  ;  and  in  their  number  was  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce.  But  the 
weight  of  ninety  years  was  too  much  for  him ;  after  start- 
ing upon  his  journey,  he  Avas  compelled  to  desist  and  to 
let  his  colleagues  go  on  without  him.  He  had  served 
two  generations  in  the  Christian  ministry,  and  had  the 
spirit  to  begin  service  with  a  third  had  that  been  possi- 
ble. His  address  was,  however,  read  to  the  Conference  by 
its  secretary.  There  are  in  this  address  beautiful  passages, 
which  should  be  long  preserved.  He  called  the  visit  of 
Bishops  Janes  and  Simpson  to  St.  Louis,  in  1869,  "a  star 
of  hope  rising  above  the  gloomy  horizon."  The  address 
speaks  thus  of  the  appointment  of  Messrs.  Hunt,  Fowler, 
and  Fisk :  "  The  action  of  your  General  Conference  in 
Brooklyn  we  regarded  as  the  official  recognition  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  as  a  legitimate  organi- 
zation of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  provided  for 
in  1814.  Here  began  our  official  intercourse.  These  breth- 
ren came  to  us  in  love.  We  received  them  with  loving 
hearts.  They  did  their  work  nobly  and  well.  That  Gen- 
eral Conference  determined  to  send  to  you,  at  this  meeting, 
a  like  delegation,  and,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  we  are  here. 
How  we  may  do  our  work  will  be  for  you  to  say.  "We  will 
never  be  outdone  by  you  as  far  as  Christian  comity  and 
effort  are  involved.     Neither  can  we,  in  this  good  work, 


THE  DISPUTED    QUESTIONS.  437 

ever  come  in  ahead  of  you.  Your  delegates  were  sent  to 
us  without  plenary  powers  in  regard  to  the  pending  issues. 
So,  likewise,  have  we  come  to  you.  On  both  sides  it  seems 
that  we,  in  our  humble  spheres,  have  been  sent,  like  John 
the  Baptist,  to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord."  Of  the  mat- 
ters in  dispute  between  the  churches,  he  remarked,  very 
wisely :  "  They  are  delicate,  sensitive  things — never  to  be 
settled  by  chafing  speeches,  but,  as  we  believe,  can  be  speed- 
ily prayed  and  talked  to  death  by  a  joint  board  of  discreet 
brethren  intent  upon  Christian  peace." 

These  "  delicate,  sensitive  things  "  form  a  part  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  period.  They  date  back  to  the  years  of  the  Avar, 
and  to  the  occupation  of  the  South  by  both  Northern  and 
Southern  armies.  In  Virginia  many  of  our  congregations 
had  seceded  to  the  Southern  Methodists ;  in  East  Tennessee 
many  congregations  under  jurisdiction  of  Southern  Method- 
ism had  come  over  to  the  Northern  Church.  In  the  part  of 
Virginia  occupied  by  us  up  to  1861,  loyal  pastors  had  been 
dispossessed ;  in  East  Tennessee  the  pastors  were,  in  the 
main,  Southern  in  sympathy,  and  upon  the  occupation  of 
the  country  by  us  retired  with  the  Southern  forces. 

Still  further,  as  our  armies  penetrated  the  slave  states, 
many  churches  were  abandoned  and  left  wholly  untenanted; 
in  still  others  disloyal  ministers  remained  as  rallying-points 
of  disloyal  opinion.  Secretary  Stanton,  therefore,  at  the  in- 
stance of  Bishop  Ames,  issued  an  order,  November  30, 1863, 
placing  at  his  disposal  "  all  houses  of  worship  belonging  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  which  a  loyal 
preacher  appointed  by  a  loyal  bishop  does  not  now  officiate." 
Considering  that  it  is  the  usual  fate  of  churches  within  the 
field  of  the  operations  of  hostile  armies  to  be  turned  to  ac- 
count as  hospitals,  storehouses,  and  what  not,  and  consider- 
ing, too,  that  the  use  of  abandoned  churches  by  loyal  minis- 
ters might  be,  and  wras,  in  many  ways  useful  to  the  national 
cause,  the  order  was  wTell  enough.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  wre  were  in  the  midst  of  war,  and  that  its  issue  was  still 


43S  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

uncertain.  To  encourage  the  expression  of  loyalty  in  the 
partially  conquered  states,  and  to  repress  disloyalty,  were 
the  obvious  duties  of  both  civilians  and  soldiers.  But  the 
order  was  extreme  in  its  terms  and  worked  injustice.  Mr. 
Lincoln,  who,  to  use  his  own  phrase,  had  declined  "  to  run 
the  churches,"  was  greatly  dissatisfied  with  this  measure  of 
his  war  secretary.  He  wrote  to  Mr.  Stanton,  February  11, 
1864,  saying  that  he  was  embarrassed  by  having  had  brought 
to  him  what  purported  to  be  a  formal  order  of  the  War  De- 
partment for  the  delivery  of  these  churches  to  the  Northern 
Methodist  bishops.*  This  remonstrance  had  its  effect.  On 
February  13  the  secretary  of  war  modified  his  order  so  as 
to  limit  its  application  to  states  designated  by  the  president 
as  being  still  in  rebellion. 

Bishop  Simpson's  part  in  the  application  of  Secretary 
Stanton's  order  was,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  see,  lim- 
ited to  Tennessee.  Here,  for  instance,  in  Nashville,  the 
McKendree  church,  which  the  army  was  using  for  its  own 
purposes,  was  put  in  order  for  the  occupancy  of  the  Rev. 
M.  J.  Cramer  as  a  lo}Tal  pastor.  He  visited  this,  to  him, 
new  field  of  labor  in  January,  1864,  and  here  met,  in  Nash- 
ville, for  the  first  time,  General  Grant.  He  wrote  to  his 
wife :  "  We  had  an  interview  with  General  Grant.  He  is 
not  very  communicative,  but  I  have  no  doubt  is  both  an 
able  general  and  a  talented  man.  I  purpose  to  spend  next 
Sabbath  here,  and  then  to  visit  Chattanooga.  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  I  can  reach  Knoxville,  as  the  river  has  fallen."  Later 
in  the  month  he  writes :  "  I  had  an  interview  with  General 
Johnson  this  morning.  He  is  true  Union  ;  but  all  these  South- 
ern people  have  a  deep  prejudice  against  the  North.  To-mor- 
rowr  morning  I  have  agreed  to  preach  in  the  hall  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  But  my  congregation  will  be  small.  The 
citizens  care  nothing  about  us,  except  to  dislike  us." 

*  "Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  by  Nicolay  and  Hay,  in  Century  Maga- 
zine, August,  1889,  p.  566. 


REPAIRING  McKENDREE  CHAPEL.  439 

As  to  the  bishop's  appointee — the  Kev.  M.  J.  Cramer — he 
was  in  the  midst  of  "  a  sea  of  troubles."  The  McKendree 
Chapel  had  been  dismantled  when  the  army  took  possession 
of  it ;  the  seats  were  gone,  carpets  had  disappeared— in  fact, 
the  entire  interior  had  to  be  reconstructed.  All  this  was 
to  be  done  by  the  quartermaster  of  the  forces  in  Nashville. 
Mr.  Cramer  thus  writes  to  Bishop  Simpson :  "  I  have  just  now 
received  an  order  from  General  Grant  to  have  McKendree 
Chapel  refitted  for  worship.  I  shall  immediately  proceed  to 
the  chief  quartermaster  to  have  the  order  executed  as  soon 
as  possible."  Several  weeks  later  he  writes:  "The  order 
of  General  Grant  to  the  Quartermaster's  Department  to  re- 
pair McKendree  Chapel  and  the  German  church  is  at  last  in 
progress  of  execution.  The  carpenters  are  at  work  to  make 
new  seats,  and  to  do  the  other  necessary  repairs.  The  mas- 
ter-carpenter told  me  that  the  audience-room  of  the  chapel 
will  be  ready  for  occupancy  in  two  weeks.  The  walls  need 
either  to  be  repapered  or  frescoed ;  the  latter  would  be  pref- 
erable, for  I  desire  to  make  the  church  as  attractive  as  pos- 
sible. ...  I  have  no  doubt  we  shall  have  large  congregations 
when  it  is  known  to  be  ready  for  occupancy,  for  many  tem- 
porary sojourners  here  desire  to  attend  a  Methodist  Church." 
Still  later,  after  more  delays :  "  I  have  had  to  superintend 
the  repairing  and  do  a  great  deal  of  the  work  myself, 
especially  in  refurnishing  the  church.  I  had  trouble  in 
finding  the  whereabouts  of  the  furniture,  and,  when  found, 
the  keeper  thereof  refused  to  deliver  it,  but  I  procured  an 
order  from  the  post  commander.  The  walls  are  newly 
papered ;  new  seats  put  in,  painted,  and  grained  ;  the  ceiling 
whitened— in  short,  the  church  is  entirely  repaired  and  thor- 
oughly renovated.  On  June  12th  it  was  opened  for  divine 
service." 

Our  occupancy  of  this  church  was  strongly  resisted  by 
the  Methodists  of  Nashville.  But  worse  results  than  oppo- 
sition followed  in  various  parts  of  the  South.  Some  of  our 
Northern  Methodist  ministers,  holding  Southern  Methodist 


440  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

pulpits,  conceived  the  idea  that  their  occupancy  gave  them 
title  to  the  churches  which  were,  for  the  time  being, 
in  their  hands.  They  were  led  to  this  opinion  the  more 
readily  because  our  General  Conference  had  rejected,  in 
1848,  the  Plan  of  Separation  by  which  church  property  had 
been  divided  between  the  North  and  the  South.  When  re- 
minded that  the  Plan  of  Separation  had  been  pronounced 
valid  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  they  would 
shake  their  heads  and  answer :  "That  was  in  pro-slavery  times, 
and  was  done  by  a  pro-slavery  bench  of  judges."  True 
to  the  letter,  but  law  is  law,  and  legal  decisions  can  be  trav- 
ersed only  by  established  legal  methods.  All  lands  and 
buildings  in  the  South  which  in  1844  were  the  property  of  the 
undivided  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were  no  longer  ours, 
as  little  as  we  relished  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
In  numerous  cases  our  temporary  use  of  these  places  of 
worship  as  centres  of  loyalty  was  of  great  advantage  to  the 
nation.  An  excellent  instance  of  this  is  given  by  a  report 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Newman  to  Bishop  Ames.  His  field  of  la- 
bor was  New  Orleans,  and  he  thus  writes  in  October,  1864 : 
"  When  the  president  of  the  United  States  appointed  August 
4th  as  a  day  of  national  humiliation  and  prayer  for  the  suc- 
cess of  our  arms,  I  at  once  determined  to  have  the  day  prop- 
erly observed.  I  was,  however,  repeatedly  assured  by  lead- 
ing citizens  that  any  such  attempt  would  be  futile,  as  such 
days  are  never  kept  by  the  people  of  New  Orleans.  Believ- 
ing the  time  had  come  when  social  reforms  should  commence, 
I  immediately  applied  to  the  editors  of  our  leading  papers 
to  prepare  a  strong  leader  on  the  importance  of  all  good 
citizens  suspending  business  and  giving  themselves  to  reflec- 
tion on  the  grandeur  and  responsibility  of  the  events  through 
which  we  are  passing ;  and,  calling  upon  the  mayor,  I  was 
assured  that  a  proclamation  would  be  issued  worthy  of  the 
occasion.  Subsequently,  at  a  meeting  of  all  the  loyal  clergy, 
it  was  resolved  to  hold  divine  service  in  each  of  the  churches 
in  the  morning,  and  to  have  Union  prayer-meetings  in  the 


WILL    THE  SOUTH  BE  LOYAL?  441 

afternoon  and  evening  at  two  central  points.  The  day 
dawned  in  unclouded  beauty,  and  a  cool  breeze  from  the 
Gulf  tempered  the  heat  of  an  August  sun.  To  our  delight, 
the  secular  press  not  only  suggested  the  propriety  of  a  gen- 
eral suspension  of  business,  but  exhorted  the  people  to  at- 
tend church  ;  the  proclamations  of  the  mayor  and  governor 
were  not  merely  formal  documents,  but  were  simple,  earnest, 
and  devout.  At  ten  a.  m.  the  Union  merchants  commenced 
to  close  their  stores,  their  secession  neighbors  soon  fol- 
lowed, and  by  eleven  o'clock  every  store  of  any  impor- 
tance was  closed ;  all  the  banks,  all  the  civil  and  military 
offices  were  shut,  and  the  press  suspended  for  the  day,  so 
that  the  public  were  without  a  paper  the  next  morning. 
In  the  evening  the  mayor  presided  at  one  of  the  Union 
meetings,  and  I  commenced  my  remarks  by  congratulat- 
ing him  on  the  general  and  respectful  observance  of  the 
day." 

It  would  have  been  better  if  at  the  close  of  the  war  we 
had  surrendered  the  churches  occupied  by  us  more  prompt- 
ly. When  General  Fisk  was  appointed  Commissioner  of 
Refugees,  Freedmen,  and  Abandoned  Lands,  he  greatly  aided 
the  cause  of  peace  by  his  friendliness  to  the  Southern  Meth- 
odist leaders,  and  by  doing  all  that  lay  in  his  power  to  se- 
cure to  the  Southern  Church  the  restoration  of  its  property. 
The  large  powers  intrusted  to  him  were  used  in  establishing 
relations  of  confidence  between  the  national  government 
and  the  people  of  Tennessee.  In  performing  this  service 
the  chiefs  of  Southern  Methodism  co-operated  heartily  with 
him. 

Another  cause  of  irritation  which  the  Southern  bishops 
had  noticed  was  the  cry  that  the  destiny  of  Southern  Meth- 
odism was  to  "  be  disintegrated  and  absorbed  by  the  North- 
ern Church."  This  cry  left  out  of  account  the  lesson  of 
history,  that  to  no  institutions  do  men  cling  more  tenacious- 
ly than  to  their  churches.  To  disintegrate  churches  has, 
except  in  a  few  rare  cases,  been  beyond  the  power  even  of 


442  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

conquerors.  The  scheme  was  a  favorite  one  with  the  edi- 
tor of  the  Christian  Advocate  of  New  York,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Curry;*  he  reasoned  that  the  members  of  a  once  disloyal 
Church  could  never  become  loyal  again.  But  he  made  no 
account  of  the  softening  influence  of  time,  and  of  the  fact 
of  experience  that  community  of  interest  does  in  the  end 
create  community  of  feeling.  What  the  future  may  have 
in  store  for  us,  no  one  of  us  knows ;  but  of  one  thing  we 
may  be  confident,  that  we  have  done  wisely  thus  far  in 
following  the  things  that  make  for  peace. 

With  all  these  events  fresh  in  their  minds,  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  two  churches  met  at  Cape  May,  New  Jersey, 
August,  1876.  A  basis  of  fraternity  framed  partly  in 
the  terms  suggested  by  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce  was  determined 
upon ;  rules  for  settling  conflicting  claims  to  church  prop- 
erty were  laid  down ;  and  contestants  were  advised  to 
amicably  compose  their  differences,  irrespective  of  strict 
legal  title,  and  to  settle  the  same  according  to  Christian 

*  Some  passages  from  the  Christian  Advocate  will  show  its  reasoning 
on  this  subject.  On  February  22,  1866,  the  editor  says:  "The  Church 
of  the  South,  not  less  than  the  State,  was  built  upon  and  fashioned  to 
the  institution  of  slavery ;  and  as  with  the  State,  so  with  the  Church,  the 
removal  of  slavery  necessitates  a  disintegration  and  reconstruction.  This 
general  remark  applies  more  fully  to  Southern  Methodism  than  to  any 
other  Southern  ecclesiastical  system,  on  account  of  its  denominational 
unity  and  common  pastorate."  The  offer  of  lay  delegation  to  the  laity 
by  the  first  Southern  General  Conference  held  after  the  war  seemed  to 
Dr.  Curry  to  foretoken  a  dissolution  of  the  Southern  Church.  On  Aj^ril 
25,  1867,  he  says:  "We  doubt  whether  the  [Southern]  laity  are  prepared 
to  accept  this  degenerate  bastard  Methodism  at  the  hands  of  their  min- 
isters. Let  us  be  ready  to  give  them  that  which  they  will  require — the 
Methodism  of  the  fathers  of  the  first  century  of  our  history,  in  spirit  and 
form,  as  it  ever  has  been.  With  this  we  may  not  only  maintain  our  place 
in  the  South,  but  certainly  disintegrate  the  rival  body,  and  absorb  what- 
ever of  it  shall  be  found  worth  preserving."  Dr.  Curry  was  sincere  in  all 
this,  but  the  results  of  history  show  that  he  was  mistaken  in  his  judg- 
ment of  the  course  of  events.  Nor  do  I  think  that  his  opinion  was  gen- 
erally entertained  by  our  Church. 


LETTERS  TO  EIS  FAMILY.  443 

principles.*  May  the  future  historian  of  Methodism  be 
able  to  write :  "  Then  had  the  churches  rest  and  were  edi- 
fied ;  and  walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  com- 
fort of  the  Holy  Spirit,  were  multiplied." 

The  bishop's  letters  to  his  wife  during  this  period  give  us 
the  best  impression  we  can  now  have  of  his  multifarious  ac- 
tivity. To-day  he  is  here,  to-morrow  gone,  and  in  a  week  he 
is  a  thousand  miles  or  more  from  the  first  point.  In  1866- 
67  he  goes  to  the  South  and  to  Havana,  in  company  with 
his  eldest  son,  who  is  in  failing  health.  While  on  this 
journey  he  receives  all  possible  courtesies  from  our  govern- 
ment. We  quote  from  his  letters  to  his  wife  and  his  friends, 
mostly  brief  passages :  "  Conference  is  nearly  over.  It  will 
close  to-morrow,  and  I  have  seen  not  the  slightest  cause  for 
alarm.  General  Sheridan  told  me  to-day  that  he  had  sent 
a  staff-officer  several  times  to  ride  near  the  church,  and  to 
see  that  all  was  quiet. 

"  How  I  wish  you  were  here  with  me,  that  we  might  talk 
together,  and  say  so  much  more  than  it  is  possible  to  write ! 
Pen  and  ink  are  indeed  a  great  convenience  and  comfort  to 
distant  friends  in  aiding  correspondence,  but  how  fast  the 
moments  would  fly  could  we  only  sit  down  by  our  quiet 
study-room  fire  and  talk  over  the  events  of  the  past  and  the 
prospects  of  the  future !" 

Bishop  Janes  to  Bishop  Simpson : 

"New  York. 
"Your  lectures  are  great  successes.     I  am  glad.     Your  success  is  my 
success.     You  cannot  very  well  rise  without  lifting  me  too.     The  episco- 
pacy is  a  unit.     Getting  possession  of  churches  by  military  authority  has 
a  great  deal  of  odium  attached  to  it,  especially  since  the  close  of  the  war." 

The  following  order  from  the  War  Department  was  in- 
tended to  be  a  temporary  settlement  of  the  conflicting 
claims  to  church  property  in  Virginia : 

*  The  names  of  the  commissioners  were :  For  the  Northern  Church, 
M.  DeC.  Crawford,  J.  P.  Newman,  E.  L.  Fancher,  C.  B.  Fisk,  E.  Q.  Fuller; 
for  the  South,  E.  H.  Myers,  T.  M.  Finney,  R.  K.  Hargrove,  D.  Cloptou, 
It.  B.  Vance.     The  final  action  was  unanimous. 


444  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"  Washington,  D.  C,  Nov.  34, 1866. 
"  To  Commanders  of  Military  Departments  and  all  Officers  and 
Persons  in  the  Military  Service  of  the  United  States  : 
"  The  Reverend  Matthew  Simpson,  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  having  occasion,  in  company  with  his  son,  to  make  a  journey 
through  the  Southern  States,  it  is  the  desire  of  this  department  that  they 
receive  assistance,  courtesy,  and  protection  from  all  commanders  of  mil- 
itary departments  and  posts  through  which  they  may  pass  or  in  which 
they  may  sojourn.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War." 

Bishop  Simpson  to  Mrs.  Simpson  : 

"  Philadelphia,  Oct.  28, 1867. 

"And  now,  having  given  you  the  gossip,  I  naturally  look  up  to  see 
your  sparkling  eye,  and  to  hear  you  ask,  '  And  what  did  he  say  then  V 
'  And  what  did  you  say  V     But  I  see  no  eyes,  I  hear  no  voice. 

"  Well,  well !  the  world  is  a  scene  of  toil  and  care ;  we  must  work 
while  it  is  called  to-day  at  whatever  our  hands  find  to  do.  There  is  a 
land  where  there  is  no  sickness,  no  anxiety,  no  pain,  no  separation.  May 
we  be  ready  for  that  bright  laud." 

Bishop  Simpson  to  Bishop  Ames : 

"Philadelphia,  May  29, 1869. 
"I  have  returned  and  speak  again  upon  the  subject  in  Pittsburgh,  for 

which  I  expect  to  be  taken  to  task  by as  a  partisan  bishop ;  but  as 

he  has  all  the  bishops  on  hand  at  present,  possibly  he  may  think  I  am 
too  small  game.  I  feel  an  intense  interest  in  the  subject  growing  out 
of  the  attitude  of  the  Church  South.  If  we  are  to  have  a  union  with 
other  Methodist  bodies,  it  can  only  be  on  the  basis  of  admitting  the  lay 
element,  as  they  all  have  it.  But  if  we  are  not  to  have  it,  then  all  along 
our  border,  as  well  as  through  the  South,  we  must  stand  face  to  face  with 
the  Church  South,  which,  when  the  slavery  question  is  settled,  will  have 
no  point  of  difference  with  us  excepting  this  lay  element,  and  I  fear  they 
can  so  use  this  question  as  to  greatly  retard  our  progress." 

The  vote  given  on  lay  delegation  by  the  people  was  so 
overwhelming  in  its  favor  that  the  ministers  could  not  hon- 
orably do  otherwise  than  concur.  The  General  Conference 
of  1868  had  pledged  the  ministry  to  concurrence.  On  the 
probable  result  of  the  ministerial  vote,  Bishop  Simpson, 
during  the  autumn  of  1869  and  the  spring  of  1870,  expressed 
great  anxiety.     The  attitude  of  the  four  surviving  bishops 


LAY  DELEGATION  IN  DANGER.  445 

towards  the  measure  can  be  described  in  a  feAv  words.  Bish- 
op Simpson  was  heartily  committed  to  it ;  Bishop  Ames  Avas 
fearful  of  its  effect  upon  the  stability  of  the  episcopate ; 
Bishop  Janes,  though  not  favoring  lay  delegation  on  its 
merits,  was  extremely  solicitous  that  the  pledge  of  the  min- 
istry should  be  redeemed  by  the  casting  of  the  necessary 
three-fourths  vote  in  the  Annual  Conferences ;  Bishop  Scott 
was  in  opinion  opposed,  but  was  passive.  Bishop  Janes  thus 
describes  his  position  in  a  letter  to  Bishop  Ames  from  Lynch- 
burg, Va.  :  "  Since  I  saw  Bishop  Simpson  I  think  I  can  trust 
you  on  the  lay  delegation  question.  He  understands  that 
you  have  made  up  your  mind  to  give  your  influence  in  favor 
of  it.  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it.  Though,  _pr  se,  I  am  not 
in  favor  of  it,  from  the  present  state  of  the  question  I  am 
very  anxious  it  should  carry.  I  think  I  see  very  severe  con- 
flicts before  us  if  it  does  not  carry.  But  the  point  of  pain- 
ful anxiety  with  me  is  the  '  keeping  faith  with  the  people.'  I 
do  feel  that  the  Methodist  ministry  will  be  dishonored  be- 
fore the  world  if  we  fail  to  keep  our  declarations  to  them 
on  this  subject  good.  On  this  point  my  feelings  are  very 
anxious.     But  enough  till  I  see  you." 

Yes,  our  honor  as  ministers  was  involved.  And  this  fact 
Bishop  Janes  put  before  the  members  of  Conferences  in 
such  clear  light  (yet  always  in  private  interviews)  that 
they  felt  the  call  of  honor  to  be  imperative,  and  obeyed 
it.  They  thus  added  another  to  their  many  claims  upon 
the  gratitude  of  their  people.  Before  this  date  Bishop 
Simpson  had  written  to  his  wife  from  Indianapolis :  "  In- 
diana and  Northwestern  Indiana  Conferences  have  gone 
so  badly  on  lay  delegation  as  almost  to  destroy  hopes  of 
success."  Early  in  1870  he  informs  Mrs.  Simpson  that  he 
may  go  to  Germany,  and  advises  her  to  get  ready  to  ac- 
company him.  The  vote  on  lay  delegation,  he  thinks,  will 
be  very  close,  and  the  help  of  the  Conference  in  Germany 
may  be  necessary.  His  letters  written  while  holding  his 
Spring  Conferences  show  the  fluctuation  of  his  feelings: 


446  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Springfield,  Mass.,  April  20,  1870:  "Lay  delegation  will 
be  so  close  that  it  is  impossible  to  say  bow  it  will  go.  I 
have  both  hope  and  fear."  Augusta,  Me.,  May  4,  1870 : 
"  Arrived  safely  last  evening.  Matters  look  squally  here  for 
lay  delegation.  The  opposition  is  strong,  active,  and  deter- 
mined. I  will  let  you  know  the  probabilities  early."  Au- 
gusta, Me.,  May  5, 1870 :  "  Matters  look  very  badly  here— we 
shall  be  beaten,  and  I  think  that  lay  delegation  is  probably 
lost.  My  heart  is  sore  and  sad.  I  fear  1  shall  be  almost  as 
nervous  as  you  are.  May  God  direct  us."  May  7,  1870 : 
"  So  I  think  we  shall  have  a  majority  in  this  country  that 
will  give  a  good  start  for  Germany,  and  may  discourage  the 
opposition.     Still,  on  Germany  it  will  turn." 

It  is  due  to  the  Methodist  company  to  say  that  we  were 
not  so  apprehensive  of  defeat  as  Bishop  Simpson  was. 
We  were  confident  that  the  ministers  would  keep  faith. 
It  was  our  determination,  however,  even  if  we  did  fail,  to 
begin  again,  and  that  without  appeals  to  passion.  Our  con- 
viction of  the  thorough  integrity  of  the  ministry  was  too 
strong  to  be  shaken  by  any  untoward  event.  In  his  next 
letter  Bishop  Simpson  writes  more  cheerfully.  He  is  still 
at  Augusta,  Maine :  "  I  am  satisfied  we  are  past  danger  on 
the  lay  delegation  question.  We  were  in  great  peril  here, 
and  everything  was  against  us  for  two  or  three  days,  and 
looked  very  dark.  AYe  may  not,  however,  get  a  sufficient 
majority  to  make  us  safe  without  my  visiting  Germany. 
With  this  there  can  be  no  question." 

After  finishing  his  Conferences  in  the  spring,  of  1870  he 
started  for  Europe,  taking  with  him  Mrs.  Simpson  and  his 
daughters.  A  daughter  and  son-in-law  were  then  living  in 
Antwerp.  In  August  he  returned  home  alone.  His  letters 
to  his  family  during  this  absence  are  among  the  most  inter- 
esting of  his  entire  correspondence.  A  few  are  here  added. 
The  first  is  written  on  the  way  to  New  York : 

"  Steamer  Scotia,  Aug.  21,  1870. 
"  This  is  a  wonderful  trip.     I  have  wished  a  thousand  times  that  you 


LETTERS   TO  HIS  FAMILY  IN  EUROPE.  447 

could  have  been  with  me  to  enjoy  it.  From  the  time  you  left  us  until 
now  we  have  seen  or  felt  nothing  of  storm  or  roughness  on  the  sea.  Not 
only  have  there  been  no  racks  upon  the  tables,  but  there  has  been  scarce- 
ly a  perceptible  roll  of  the  vessel.  Occasionally  there  has  been  some 
swell  of  the  sea,  and  a  gentle  heaving  up  and  clown,  but  I  do  not  believe 
you  would  have  missed  a  single  meal.  Our  tables  have  been  crowded 
all  the  time,  though  I  have  learned  that  a  few  ladies  complained  of  sick- 
ness. 

"I  scarcely  allow  myself  to  think  of  the  long  dreary  days  that  must 
pass  before  you  return.  But  I  will  try  to  do  the  best  I  can  to  employ 
myself  profitably,  if  God  gives  me  health  and  strength.  I  pray  that  you 
may  have  a  happy  and  profitable  sojourn  abroad,  and  be  for  time  to 
come  healthier  and  happier  among  your  loved  ones  on  your  return. 

"The  captain  read  prayers  and  a  sermon  to-day,  not  inviting  any  min- 
ister, though  four  Catholic  bishops  and  three  Presbyterian  ministers  were 
on  board.  This  Episcopal  exclusiveness  is  abominable.  The  more  I  see 
of  it,  the  more  thoroughly  I  detest  it.  I  hope  it  will  not  be  many  years 
until  the  Church  of  England  shall  be  disestablished,  and  all  denomina- 
tions shall  be  on  equal  footing.  But  we  must  patiently  wait  for  the 
'good  time  coming."' 

"  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  28,  1870. 

"  How  glad  I  am,  after  the  labor  of  the  Sabbath,  to  have,  even  across 
the  ocean,  a  little  chat  with  you.  How  strange  it  seems  that  only  two 
weeks  have  passed  since  I  kissed  you  good-bye  on  the  steamer,  and  then 
saw  you  gradually  receding  as  you  went  back  into  the  harbor,  until  I 
could  no  longer  discern  features  or  form,  or  see  even  the  waving  of  the 
white  handkerchief.  And  yet  here  I  am  in  Central  New  York,  with  the 
work  of  an  Annual  Conference  almost  over.  Should  no  unforeseen  delay 
occur,  we  will  close  to-morrow  evening,  and  I  hope  to  leave  on  Tuesday 
morning  for  Indiana,  calling  by  Erie  on  the  way. 

"To-day  I  preached  in  the  Opera-House.  Twenty-five  hundred  people 
were  in  the  room,  by  count,  and  the  halls,  vestibules,  etc.,  were  crowded 
down  to  the  street,  and  many  hundreds  were  unable  to  get  admittance. 
My  theme  was,  '  Prophetic  pictures  of  Christ.'  The  people  were  very 
attentive,  and  there  was  much  feeling,  but  the  sermon  was  quite  slip- 
shod.    After  preaching  I  ordained  eleven  deacons. 

"  With  all  I  have  written,  and  with  all  that  the  Church  knows  of  my 
labors,  I  am  receiving  constant  applications  both  for  lectures  and  dedi- 
cations. The  dedications  are  all  critical  cases— would  not  ask  me,  only 
for  extreme  necessity,  etc.  I  have  declined  all  engagements,  however. 
Now  I  have  spun  out  a  pretty  long  letter.     The  family  have  come  home 


448  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

from  church,  and  I  must  close.  How  I  wish  you  were  here,  or  I  were 
with  you!  But  so  it  cannot  be,  and  we  must  as  cheerfully  as  possible 
abide  our  time.  As  to  going  over  this  fall,  I  cannot  see  my  way  clear. 
I  could  not  go  until  the  meeting  of  the  Missionary  Board  and  the  Bish- 
op's Meeting,  to  fix  our  places  in  November.  And  I  would  be  compelled 
to  return  in  February.  It  is  a  very  stormy  month,  and  you  would  not 
wish  to  cross  then,  so  I  could  not  be  of  service  to  you,  and  as  I  have  been 
twice  on  the  ocean  in  storms  that  month,  I  dislike  the  thought  of  being 
out  again.     So  it  seems,  at  least,  at  present." 

"Bloomington,  Ind.,  Sept.  4,  1870. 

"Three  weeks  ago  I  bade  you  good-bye,  and  how  long  it  seems!  I 
have  crossed  the  ocean,  been  at  home,  at  Elmira,  and  now  here  in  Indiana, 
almost  at  the  close  of  my  second  Conference.  How  much  labor  can  be 
crowded  into  a  few  days.  It  seems  almost  as  if  God  was  giving  us  power 
to  condense  thought  and  action.  And  yet  we  pay  for  all  this  in  the 
wear  and  tear  of  muscle  aud  of  brain. 

"  To-day  I  preached  to  an  immense  concourse  of  people  in  the  court- 
house yard.  I  did  not  want  to  do  it,  and  had  declined  unless  it  was  a 
very  favorable  day.  It  however  turned  out  to  be  so,  and  sjiecial  trains 
came  both  from  New  Albany  and  Greencastle;  about  four  hundred  it 
was  said  came  in  the  New  Albany  train.  This  afternoon  Dr.  Merrill,  of 
the  Western  Christian  Advocate,  preached  in  the  same  place.  I  did  not 
receive  any  injury,  as  I  was  quite  careful. 

"It  is  a  bright  moonlight  night— it  is  pleasant  to  think  you  may  have 
seen  at  an  earlier  hour  the  moon  which  now  looks  down  on  me.  It  has 
passed  from  you  a  few  hours  since.  How  I  wish  it  were  a  carrier-pigeon, 
to  have  in  its  wings  some  message  for  me.  But  that  moon  is  only  the 
reflection  of  a  brighter  sun  now  hidden  from  view,  and  that  an  emana- 
tion from  the  eternal  fountain  of  uncreated  light  and  joy.  How  delight- 
ful to  be  assured  that  we  are  remembered  at  the  great  centre  of  the 
universe,  that  our  names  are  recorded  there,  and  that  a  heart  of  infinite 
compassion  is  'touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities.'  Yes,  not 
with  the  feeling  of  our  thoughts  of  beauty,  or  our  grand  resolves,  or 
noble  purposes,  or  unutterable  joys — but  '  of  our  infirmities.'  Are  mine 
known  in  heaven?  Does  the  creator  of  all  worlds,  the  eternal  Word — 
the  Lord  of  light  and  glory- — share  them  with  me  ?  What  a  glorious  rev- 
elation has  God  given  us,  that  tinges  with  a  border  of  glory  even  the 
dark  shadows  of  earth.  If  the  shadow  be  so  brilliant,  what  will  the 
substance  be  ? 

"  But  I  hear  you  say,  enough  of  this  moralizing — leave  the  sermons 
for  the  pulpit  and  the  press ;  letters  ought  to  be  personal,  lively,  chatty, 


PREACHING    OUT-OF-DOORS.  449 

full  of  tender  thoughts  and  life  pictures  of  the  hour.  Well,  so  be  it — 
and  yet  time  and  eternity  will  have  a  point  of  contact,  and  all  around 
us  hang  the  curtains  of  the  invisible.  How  near  the  border  none  can 
tell.  I  can  almost  hear  the  sweet  chant  to-night,  '  I  am  nearer  my  Fa- 
ther's house  than  I've  ever  been  before.' 

"But  they  are  coming  from  church;  the  footfalls  sound  on  the  board 
walks  which  serve  here  for  pavements;  the  crickets  sound  in  the  house; 
the  alternation  of  murmur  and  of  silence  tells  of  the  hour  of  rest,  and 
away  in  the  distance  I  hear  the  sound  of  lively  song  in  the  church  in  the 
strain,  '  Oh,  how  I  love  Jesus !'  That  sweet  sound  of  music  faintly  heard 
in  the  distance  is  like  an  echo  from  a  far-off  camp-meeting,  and  tells  of 
earnest  Christian  hearts.  But  then,  again — there  is  my  pen  running  back 
again  to  a  half-homily,  when  it  ought  to  be  a  colloquy.  But,  as  Bishop 
Morris  used  to  say  about  his  appointments, 'What  is  writ  will  stay  writ.' 
There  goes  another  strain  in  the  distance,  '  Oh,  bear  me  away  on  your 
snowy  wings !'  What  an  odd  thing  that  Bishop  Morris's  song  should 
come  just  as  I  had  his  name  on  paper !" 

The  interest  of  the  people  in  his  preaching  is  greater  than 
ever,  and  he  is  compelled  to  speak  out-of-doors  Sunday  after 
Sunday.  There  is  no  public  building  within  reach  large 
enough  to  hold  the  eager  congregations.  He  writes  to  Mrs. 
Simpson  from  Lebanon,  111.,  September  18, 1870 :  "Last  night 
I  read  the  appointments  here,  as  we  had  finished  Confer- 
ence business,  and  to-day  preached  to  an  immense  congre- 
gation on  the  college  green.  For  three  Sabbaths  I  have 
been  compelled  to  preach  out-of-doors,  as  the  crowd  is  so 
great  as  to  be  utterly  unmanageable  otherwise.  The  weath- 
er has  been  very  fine,  only  so  warm  as  to  be  considerably 
oppressive." 

"  Warsaw,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  9,  1870. 
"At  last,  this  evening,  I  have  got  away  from  company  to  my  room,  to 
talk  a  little  while  with  you.  For  two  days  I  have  been  exceedingly 
busy,  and  to-day  have  not  had  a  moment  to  myself  since  preaching.  I 
was  obliged  to  talk  in  a  tent  and  to  those  around  it  (for  the  curtains 
were  up)  to  the  number  of  about  four  thousand  persons.  The  sermon 
was  only  moderate.  I  am  glad  that  this  is  my  last  Conference.  I  am 
getting  very  tired.  Other  duties  will  gather  about  me,  but  I  will  be 
free  from  Conference  anxiety.  Everybody  seems  kind  and  loving.  How 
thankful  ought  we  to  be  for  friends.  One  old  man  I  never  saw  before 
29 


450  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

gave  me  two  nice  apples  from  his  pocket  yesterday.     It  was  a  token  of 
his  love,  simple  as  it  was. 

"  I  listened  to-day  to  a  good  sermon  from  Dr.  Wentworth,  on  sacrificing 
for  Christ.  I  fear  I  have  not  done  enough  of  it.  My  service  has  all  been 
repaid  a  hundredfold.  It  is  no  reproach,  no  pain,  now  to  work  for  Christ. 
Occasionally  my  head  aches,  and  my  heart  has  its  strange  sensations  that 
tell  me  some  day  it  will  be  weary  and  stop;  but  these  I  would  have  any- 
where. They  are  not  borne  for  Christ's  sake.  What  are  my  crosses? 
"What  am  I  doing  to  show  the  world  my  love  for  Christ — a  love  that 
costs  me  something.  I  think  I  am  williug  to  do  all  that  my  strength 
will  permit — but  if  I  were  not  a  minister,  would  I  not  have  to  labor  as 
much  for  my  daily  bread?  How  I  abound  and  am  at  ease  while  my 
Master  suffered !     I  fear  that  none  of  us  are  thankful  enough.'" 

Here  is  a  pretty  glimpse  of  home : 

"Philadelphia,  Oct.  14,  1870. 

"  Have  got  safely  home,  and  how  I  wish  you  were  here !  It  will  not 
be  home  without  you.  But  we  must  do  the  best  we  can,  and  hope  for 
the  best.  By  and  by  fall  and  wTinter  will  pass  away,  and  sweet  spring 
will  come  again — sweeter  for  your  return.  .By  the  way,  Mrs.  Stiles  said 
she  knew  I  was  coming  last  evening,  by  the  way  the  birds  acted.  She 
said  the  evening  before  I  came  the  canary  had  been  unusually  lively,  and 
yesterday  not  only  was  the  canary  lively,  but  the  mocking-bird,  that  had 
been  mute,  began  to  whistle  and  sing.  That  was  a  pretty  welcome,  was 
it  not?" 

"Philadelphia,  Nov.  27,  1870. 

"  Again  it  is  Sunday  afternoon — to  me  it  has  been  for  the  first  time  for 
weeks  and  months  a  day  of  rest.     I  had  no  service  to-day. 

"  We  are  like  children  playing  '  make  believe.'  We  are  trying  to 
'  make  believe '  that  we  get  along  right  jneasantly  without  you.  But  it 
is  terribly  hard  work  to  play  at  it  successfully.  We  catch  ourselves  be- 
ing lonely  in  spite  of  ourselves,  and  saying,  '  Wonder  where  is  ma,'  and 
yet  the  time  of  return  is  so  far  ahead  that  we  dare  not  begin  to  count. 

I  had  a  letter  from last  Monday,  but  the  week  has  passed  without 

one  from  you.     Possibly  it  may  come  to-morrow." 

"  Cheraw,  S.  C,  Dec.  18, 1870. 
"  Dear  me !  how  times  have  changed  since  I  was  young.    I  never  crossed 
the  mountains  but  once  till  I  was  over  forty  years  of  age,  and  here  my 
children,  in  their  teens,  are  rambling  over  Europe.     Well,  well!  times 
change,  and  we  change  with  them." 


A  LOOK  AT  THE  OLD  HOME.  451 

To  his  daughter : 

"  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  Feb.  12, 1871. 
"  I  am  thankful  that  God  has  enabled  me  to  give  you  all  a  visit  to 
Europe,  and  that  your  feet  have  been  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  and 
on  the  Mount  of  Olives ;  that  you  have  looked  into  the  cave  at  Beth- 
lehem; seen  the  lofty  pyramids ;  walked  among  the  ruins  of  the  Par- 
thenon at  Athens,  and  tasted  the  honey  of  Hymattus.  And  then  you 
have  seen  the  choice  scenery  of  Europe,  and  visited  so  long  in  the  British 
Isles.  Has  it  occurred  to  you  that  you  have  been  longer  in  the  Old  World 
than  I  have  been  by  nearly  four  months  ?" 

To  Mrs.  Simpson : 

"  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Feb.  17, 1871. 
"I  saw  in  Monongahela  City,  the  other  day,  the  small  house  in  which 
you  and  I  commenced  housekeeping.  It  is  the  same  little  building,  but 
it  looks  smaller,  as  larger  houses  are  around  it.  How  many  memories 
of  the  past  came  clustering  round  me  as  I  looked  upon  this  scene  of  our 
earlier  labors  and  love,  and  how  short  seems  the  interval  between  those 
days  and  these !  But  years  have  intervened— years  of  sunlight  and  of 
shade— years  of  great  joy  and  of  deep  sorrow.  I  am  older.  I  would  fain 
hope  that  I  am  wiser  and  better,  but  how  little  we  learn,  as  we  should 
learn,  of  life's  great  mission  and  of  life's  great  duties !" 

"  Stamford,  Conn.,  Feb.  19, 1871. 
"  Drs-              ' )  antl ^e  down  pretty  severely  on  the  bish- 
ops for  their  part  in 's  trial,  and  are  going  to  elect  us  every 

four  years,  and  curb  our  power  generally.  I  rather  enjoy  the  hackling 
as  this  time  my  colleagues  share  it  with  me.  For  myself  they  may  elect 
me  out,  just  as  soon  as  they  please.  I  have  no  care  on  the  subject,  but  I 
fancy  they  will  change  their  tune  at  next  General  Conference." 

"Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  26, 1871. 
"And  now,  I  hope  you  are  still  in  good  health,  and  enjoying  all  the 
pleasures  of  the  trip.  In  those  old  homes  of  art  and  culture, °the  past 
bends  over  you,  teaching  its  lessons,  and  human  life  seems  to  be  almost 
insignificant  in  the  great  march  of  the  centuries.  The  individual  is 
almost  lost  in  the  nation.  Then,  too,  in  those  vast  cathedrals  how  small 
does  man  seem  !— the  majestic,  the  strong,  and  the  vast  encircle  him,  and 
he  feels  dwarfed  in  the  presence  of  giant  forces.  Yet,  with  all  this,  how 
sweet  are  the  words  of  our  Saviour, '  The  hairs  ofyour  head  are  all  num- 
bered !' 

"  I  have  tried  to  fancy  where  you  may  be  this  last  Sabbath  of  February, 
and  I  have  thought  it  possible  that  you  might  be  in  Dresden." 


452  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

"  Steubenville,  O.,  March  19, 1871. 

"Sunday  night  finds  me  again  at  the  table  to  chat  awhile  with  you. 
Oh,  were  you  here,  how  much  more  delightful  it  would  be  to  talk  face  to 
face,  than  this  slow  way  of  talking  by  pen  and  paper !  I  tried  to  preach 
to-day  on  '  Glorying  in  the  Cross ;'  a  very  large  assembly,  and  I  trust 
some  good  was  done.  Bishop  Clark  is  wholly  unable  to  preach,  and  is 
a  failing  man.  How  thankful  ought  I  to  be  that  with  my  heavy  labor, 
and  such  draughts  on  my  time  and  strength,  through  the  blessing  of  God, 
I  am  kept  in  fair  health  ! 

"Wherever  you  are  my  heart  travels  with  you.  Few  minutes  of  the 
day  are  you  absent  from  my  thoughts,  and  I  try  to  invoke  Heaven's  rich 
blessings  upon  you.  I  trust  God  will  have  you  in  his  holy  keeping,  and 
preserve  you  from  all  accidents  and  dangers ;  and  wdien  the  time  comes 
for  you  to  return,  that  he  may  give  you  a  safe  and  comfortable  passage 
over  the  waves.  If  it  pleases  him  to  allow  us  as  a  family  to  meet  again 
— all  of  us  in  health  and  happiness — how  devoutly  thankful  ought  we  to 
be!  We  have  been  separated  and  scattered  long  and  far;  others  have 
fallen  and  many  have  suffered,  yet  thus  far  his  hand  has  been  over  us  for 
good.     May  it  so  continue  for  our  dear  Saviour's  sake."   » 

"Morristown,  N.  J.,  March  26, 1S71. 
"Time  is  growing  shorter,  and  I  feel  more  and  more  the  value  of  eter- 
nity.    Often  I  wish  I  had  no  cares,  no  business,  no  lectures,  and  had  only 
to  preach  the  gospel,  the  glorious  gospel !     But  I  must  address  myself 
to  work  as  it  comes  to  hand,  and  hope  for  more  leisure  by  and  by." 

"  Peekskill,  N.  T.,  April  9, 1871. 

"  It  is  a  bright,  beautiful  day — Easter-day.  I  ought  to  be  glad  in  the 
day  in  which  Christ  rose  triumphantly  from  the  tomb,  conquering  death 
and  hell.  And  yet  my  heart  is  sad.  Bishop  Clark  lies  dying  in  an  ad- 
joining room.  He  may  live  till  to-morrow,  but  it  is  quite  doubtful.  He 
was  too  weak  to  leave  home,  but  so  much  had  been  said  in  the  papers 
about  superannuated  bishops  that  he  was  determined  to  work.  I  was 
deputed  to  be  with  him,  and  attended  the  Pittsburgh  and  New  England 
Conferences,  and  then  came  here.  Here  he  opened  the  Conference,  and 
presided  near  an  hour  on  Thursday  morning.  Since  that  he  has  been 
confined  chiefly  to  his  room.  How  strange  that  the  three  bishops  last 
elected  should  all  die,  and  away  from  home  ! 

"  To-day  I  tried  to  preach  to  a  very  crowded  house  from  '  Charity  never 
faileth.'  I  trust  some  good  was  done,  as  a  divine  influence  seemed  to 
rest  on  the  congregation.  The  weather  is  very  warm  for  the  season,  and 
the  hot  air  of  the  house  made  me  feel  the  fatigue. 


THE   THREE  STAGES    OF  EPISCOPAL   LIFE.        453 

"  God's  will  ought  to  be  everything  to  us ;  to  work  with  Mm  our  con- 
stant aim.  If  we  only  could  know  just  what  would  please  him,  how 
often  it  would  relieve  us  from  perplexity !  And  yet  we  are  not  always 
willing  to  yield  our  desires,  and  we  do  not  always  ask,  'Is  this  just  what 
God  likes  V  It  seems  to  me  that  if  we  lived  up  to  this  point,  we  should 
know  more  of  the  will  of  God.  The  nearer  we  come  to  this  standard  the 
happier  we  shall  be. 

"  Now  that  you  are  all  together  once  more,  even  if  you  are  on  the  other 
side  of  the  sea,  it  seems  more  as  if  you  were  home  than  when  travelling 
so  far  apart.  I  trust  that  you  are  happy  together,  and  if  you  are  at 
Antwerp,  how  glad  I  would  be  if  I  could  look  in  and  see  you  all ! 

"  How  strange  is  memory  ! — above  all,  the  memories  of  affection !  They 
do  not  die.  Loved  ones  across  the  sea — loved  ones  across  the  great  sea 
of  the  invisible — seem  to  come  near.  Back  yonder,  in  Greencastle — in 
that  small  house — I  can  see  our  little  boy  climbing  on  my  knee.  How 
plainly  I  see  him  now,  as  I  write  with  the  tears  falling  from  my  eyes ! — his 
round,  rosy  cheek ;  his  soft  voice ;  and  then — and  then — that  forehead, 
so  smooth  and  cold,  that  we  kissed  before  we  laid  him  away  !  And,  too, 
how  often  I  think  of  him !  Often  and  often  that  last  hour  with  him  is 
so  vivid,  when  I  lie  down  at  night.  And  my  mother,  and  your  mother  and 
father,  and  our  little  daughter.  How  the  circle  widens !  How  many 
friends  we  have  in  that  upper  sanctuary  !  But  sweetest  and  best  of  all, 
Jesus  loves  us,  and  calls  us  his  otvn.  How  near  heaven  earth  sometimes 
seems !" 

Some  one  has  wittily  said  that  there  are  three  stages  in 
Methodist  Episcopal  life.  In  the  first  the  bishop  enjoys  the 
novelty  of  fresh  scenes,  and  travels  with  a  sense  of  pleasure ; 
in  the  second,  he  wearies  of  so  much  unrest  and  change ;  in 
the  third,  he  travels  because  he  cannot  keep  still.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  Bishop  Simpson,  as  he  advanced  in  years,  much 
as  he  loved  the  quiet  of  his  home,  was  as  ready  as  in  his  prime 
to  take  long  tours  abroad.  He  considered  himself  bound 
to  obey  every  call  of  the  Church  he  possibly  could,  and  never 
to  shrink  from  any  duty.  In  1874  he  made  a  trip  to  Mexico, 
by  way  of  New  Orleans  and  Havana,  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
specting our  newly  established  missions  there.  The  over- 
throw of  the  political  power  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
in  that  republic  had  been  followed  by  an  inflow  of  Prot- 
estant missionaries  from  the  United  States.    Our  own  under- 


454  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

takings  in  Mexico  were  growing  in  importance,  and  called 
for  episcopal  supervision.  In  1875  he  visited  our  missions 
in  Italy,  sailing  from  Philadelphia,  and  going  by  way  of 
London,  Antwerp,  and  Paris  to  his  destination.  "  The  last 
Saturday  evening  in  June,"  he  writes  in  his  narrative,  "  I 
arrived  in  the  city  of  Florence,  where  I  spent  the  Sabbath. 
I  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  the  place  where  the  Meth- 
odist service  was  held,  as  it  was  not  opened  in  the  morning. 
In  the  evening  I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  a  sermon  from 
one  of  our  Italian  preachers,  and  of  meeting  the  superin- 
tendent, Dr.  Vernon." 

At  last  he  reaches  Rome,  and  has  the  full  realization  of 
another  of  the  dreams  of  his  life.  Early  in  1854  he  was  as 
near  the  Eternal  City  as  Naples,  but  was  prostrated  by  sick- 
ness, and  had  in  his  mind's  eye  a  Conference  in  Arkansas, 
beckoning  to  him  to  hasten  homeward.  I  doubt  if  he  tar- 
ried long  over  the  antiquities  of  Rome,  for  he  writes :  "  The 
next  day  after  my  arrival  I  spent  in  examining  the  general 
interests  connected  with  the  Protestant  churches  in  the 
city,  visiting  the  headquarters  of  the  Wesley ans,  of  the  Free 
Church,  and  of  the  Waldenses."  It  was,  however,  the  feast- 
day  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  "  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
visiting  St.  Peter's  Church,  and  of  observing  the  peculiari- 
ties of  worship  at  Rome.  Multitudes  were  kissing  the  great 
toe  of  a  brass  statue,  said  to  be  that  of  St.  Peter,  but  believed 
to  be  the  statue  of  one  of  the  old  Roman  gods."  From  Rome 
he  proceeds  to  Milan,  stays  there  two  days  with  the  assem- 
bled missionaries,  and  then  is  off  to  Germany. 

In  Germany  he  meets  the  Conference  of  German  Meth- 
odist ministers.  What  strikes  us  as  surprising  is  the  number 
of  persons  who  come  to  hear  him  preach  in  a  tongue  not 
their  own.  He  writes  again  :  "  On  Sabbath  a  large  Turner's 
hall  was  offered  for  divine  worship,  where  I  preached  through 
an  interpreter  to  between  two  and  three  thousand  people." 
From  Germany  he  moves  on  (one  is  tempted  to  say  rushes 
on )  to  Denmark.     He  jots  down  only  a  fact  or  two :  "  I 


PREACHING  THROUGH  AN  INTERPRETER.  455 

reached  Veile  in  the  afternoon,  and  preached  in  the  evening, 
in  our  hall  rented  for  public  worship,  to  a  crowded  congre- 
gation, Brother  Scon  acting  as  interpreter."  He  now  crosses 
the  Channel  to  Gottenburg,  in  Sweden ;  reaches  Christiania, 
the  capital  of  Norway ;  meets  the  assembled  missionaries, 
and  once  more  preaches  through  an  interpreter  "  to  a  large 
concourse  of  people."  Still  on  to  Stockholm  and  to  the 
island  of  Gottland,  where  he  meets  the  sixty  Swedish  preach- 
ers. Again  he  records :  "  On  Sabbath  I  dedicated  the  new 
chapel  building,  the  crowd  being  so  great  as  to  fill  the  yard 
and  the  adjacent  street  as  well  as  the  church.  I  preached 
through  Brother  W.  as  interpreter.  I  have  seldom  seen  a 
people  more  earnest  and  more  deeply  devotional  than  the 
congregation  at  this  place."  From  Gottland  he  turns  his 
face  towards  Copenhagen,  where  he  is  the  guest  of  the  Kev. 
Dr.  M.  J.  Cramer,  then  our  American  minister  to  Denmark. 
Now  homeward  bound,  he  tarries  for  a  short  space  of  time 
at  the  meeting-place  of  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference  at 
Sheffield.  "Under  the  blessing  of  Providence,"  he  says  in 
his  itinerary,  "  I  had  a  safe  return  home  in  the  month  of 
October,  in  time  to  participate  in  the  fall  meetings  of  the 
various  charitable  organizations." 

In  the  winter  of  1878-79  the  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching 
were  delivered.  They  made  a  deep  impression  on  those  who 
heard  them,  as  will  be  perceived  from  the  press  notices  of 
that  date.  They  were  delivered  to  full  audiences,  which  in- 
creased in  numbers  to  the  end.  The  lectures  were,  however, 
read,  and  in  reading  he  was  not  at  his  best.  But  the  exhibi- 
tion in  them,  always  modest,  of  his  own  personality,  gives 
them  a  beauty  peculiarly  their  own.  In  1881  a  Congrega- 
tional minister  wrote  to  him :  "  I  was  talking,  not  long  ago, 
to  a  brother-minister,  in  his  eighty-second  year,  and  we  both 
expressed  a  wish  that  we  were  just  beginning  our  ministry, 
with  the  light  you  had  shed,  showing  us  our  path.  I  thank  God 
for  your  work,  and  I  pray  that  all  our  young  ministers  may 
follow,  in  all  respects,  the  directions  you  were  guided  to  give." 


456  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

All  during  1880  he  was  interested  in  the  preparations  for 
the  (Ecumenical  Methodist  Conference,  to  be  held  in  Lon- 
don, September,  1881.  Full  as  ever  of  hopefulness  and  cour- 
age, he  started  early  this  year  for  Japan  and  China.  He 
was  nearing  threescore  and  ten,  but  I  doubt  if  this  fact  was 
taken  into  account  by  him  for  a  single  moment.  Our  mis- 
sionaries in  those  fields  were  counting  much  on  the  pleasure 
they  would  have  in  showing  him  their  work ;  they  had  found 
out  in  our  foreign  stations  that  he  was  a  sympathetic 
supervisor.  Our  chief  magistrate,  Mr.  Hayes,  wrote  a  letter 
commending  him  to  the  courtesies  of  our  national  representa- 
tives abroad.  The  secretary  of  the  nav}r,  Mr.  R.  W.  Thomp- 
son, directed  the  admiral  of  our  Asiatic  squadron  to  give  him 
transportation  in  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  Avaters.  I  do  not 
think  that  there  was  the  slightest  political  significance  in 
this  exhibition  of  personal  interest.  It  was  a  spontaneous 
expression  on  the  part  of  the  president  and  his  secretary  of 
their  sense  of  the  value  of  the  bishop's  services  to  the  coun- 
try. It  was  their  assurance  that  they  regarded  him  as  one 
of  the  first  of  American  citizens,  to  whom  something  was 
due  for  his  unselfish  devotion  to  the  national  welfare. 
Never  did  a  journey  open  under  better  auspices,  but  all  its 
hopes  were  dashed  by  the  illness  of  Mrs.  Simpson  in  Califor- 
nia, and  not  long  after  by  the  illness  of  the  bishop  himself. 
In  truth,  he  was  nearing  the  end,  and  these  reminders  of 
failing  strength,  I  doubt  not,  were  understood,  but,  as  far  as 
appears,  seemed  to  have  the  effect  to  make  him  more  solici- 
tous "  to  finish  his  course  with  joy." 

In  September,  1881,  the  Conference  of  Methodists  assem- 
bled in  London.  All  the  bodies  of  the  common  family 
name  were  well  represented  by  delegates.  Bishop  Simpson 
preached  a  thoughtful  opening  sermon ;  it  is  one  of  the  few 
discourses  which  he  read  from  manuscript  to  his  audience.* 
He  also  delivered,  while  in  England  at  this  time,  addresses 

*  This  sermon  will  be  found  in  the  volume  published  since  his  death. 


THE  GARFIELD  MEMORIAL  MEETING.  457 

and  sermons  which  were  full  of  his  old  power.  But  no  one 
of  his  speeches  so  deeply  stirred  the  people  of  England  as 
that  spoken  in  Exeter  Hall  to  an  assembly  of  Americans 
and  Englishmen  met  to  pay  suitable  honors  to  the  memory 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  General  J.  A.  Garfield. 
All  through  the  sessions  of  the  Oecumenical  Conference  the 
Americans  present  were  subjected  to  the  alternations  of 
hope  and  despair,  as  they  received  day  by  day  from  home 
the  news  of  the  wounded  president's  condition.  On  Sept. 
24th  a  meeting,  chiefly  of  Americans,  but  largely  made  up 
of  Englishmen,  was  held  in  Exeter  Hall,  under  the  presi- 
dency of  James  Russell  Lowell,  minister  of  the  United 
States.    About  three  thousand  persons  were  present.* 

Mr.  Lowell,  in  opening  the  meeting,  said  in  part :  "  The  ob- 
ject of  this  meeting,  as  you  all  know,  is  to  testify  our  respect 
for  the  character  and  services  of  the  late  President  Garfield, 
and  in  so  doing  to  offer  such  consolation  as  is  possible  to  a 
noble  mother  and  a  noble  wife,  suffering  as  few  women  have 
been  called  upon  to  suffer.  It  may  seem  a  paradox,  but  the 
only  alleviation  of  such  grief  is  a  sense  of  the  greatness  and 
costliness  of  the  sacrifice  that  gave  birth  to  it,  and  this  sense 
is  brought  home  to  us  by  the  measure  in  which  others 
appreciate  our  loss.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the 
recent  profoundly  touching  spectacle  of  womanly  devoted- 
ness,  in  its  simplicity,  its  constancy,  and  its  dignity,  has 
moved  the  heart  of  mankind  in  a  manner  without  any  prec- 
edent in  living  memory.  But  to  Americans  everywhere  it 
comes  home  with  a  pang  of  mingled  sorrow,  pride,  and  un- 
speakable domestic  tenderness  that  none  but  ourselves  can 
feel.  This  pang  is  made  more  poignant  by  exile ;  and  yet 
you  will  all  agree  with  me  in  feeling  that  the  universal  sym- 
pathy expressed  here  by  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men 
has  made  us  sensible,  as  never  before,  that,  if  we  are  in  a 

*  These  extracts  from  the  addresses  delivered  at  this  meeting  are  taken 
from  the  memorial  volume  published  iu  London. 


458  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

strange,  we  are  not  in  a  foreign  land,  and  that  if  we  are  not 
at  home  we  are  at  least  in  what  Hawthorne  so  aptly  called 
'  The  Old  Home.'  On  an  occasion  like  this,  when  we  are 
met  together  that  we  may  give  vent  to  a  common  feeling 
so  deep  and  so  earnest  as  to  thrust  aside  every  consideration 
of  self,  the  wish  of  us  all  must  be  that  what  is  said  here 
should  be  simple,  strong,  and  manly  as  the  character  of  the 
illustrious  magistrate  so  untimely  snatched  from  us  in  the 
very  seed-time  of  noble  purpose  that  would  have  sprung  up 
in  service  as  noble ;  that  we  should  be  as  tender  and  true  as 
she  has  shown  herself  to  be,  in  whose  bereavement  we  rev- 
erently claim  to  share  as  children  of  the  blessed  country  that 
gave  birth  to  him  and  to  her." 

Bishop  Simpson's  address  on  this  occasion  was  "  simple, 
strong,  and  manly,"  and  did  rise  to  "the  lofty  level"  of  a 
self-forgetting  sympathy,  which  sought  only  to  comfort  the 
sorrowing  and  to  express  the  sense  of  bereavement  which 
all  Americans  felt.  "  They  all  joined,"  he  said,  "  in  thought 
and  sympathy,  the  funeral  procession  which  was  then  wend- 
ing its  way  from  the  capital  of  their  nation,  over  plain  and 
mountain,  through  country  and  city,  to  the  former  home  of 
the  late  president,  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Erie.  Wherever 
that  procession  moved  thousands  of  heads  were  bowed  in 
tears.  They  likewise  bowed  their  heads  and  dropped  tears 
of  sympathy  as  they  thought  of  the  illustrious  citizen  who 
had  been  taken  from  the  land  of  his  birth  and  his  glory. 
The  ocean  is  between  us  and  our  home,  but  the  American, 
in  sympathy  and  in  thought,  is  never  far  from  home.  He 
may  love  the  land  in  which  he  sojourns,  he  may  be  delighted 
with  the  voices  and  the  sights  around  him,  but,  after  all,  he 
turns  back  to  the  land  of  his  birth — to  his  home — and  his 
sympathies  gather  round  the  fireside  there. 

"  There  is  good  reason  to-day  why  we  should  participate 
in  the  general  sorrow  which  afflicts  our  people.  A  great 
citizen  has  been  cut  down  in  the  strength  of  his  man- 
hood  and    of  his   matured    intellectual   power.      He  has 


THE   GARFIELD   MEMORIAL  MEETING   AT   EXETER   HALL,  LONDON. 


WONDERFUL  EFFECT  OF  HIS  SPEECH.  459 

been  smitten  without  provocation,  and  seemingly  without 
motive. 

"  I  take  no  exception  to  the  habits  or  customs  of  other 
lands ;  it  would  neither  be  fair  nor  generous  to  do  so,  but 
I  do  feel  that  in  our  land  a  poor  young  man  has  opportuni- 
ties which  no  other  under  heaven  can  afford  him.  Presi- 
dent Garfield  rose  from  a  boyhood  of  poverty  to  a  life  of 
culture,  and  did  not  stop  until  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
a  great  nation.  "When  he  falls  it  is  not  America  alone  that 
mourns.  Kings  and  princes  gather  round  his  bier,  and  the 
queen  of  the  greatest  empire  in  the  world  drops  a  tear  of 
sympathy  with  his  widow,  and  lays  a  wreath  upon  his  tomb. 
God  bless  Queen  Victoria  for  her  womanly  sympathy  and 
her  queenly  courtesy."  (The  whole  meeting  at  this  point 
rose  spontaneously  and  responded  to  the  sentiment  of  the 
speaker  by  giving  three  prolonged  cheers.) 

"But  it  is  not  only  a  lesson  that  young  men  may  rise 
that  I  read  in  the  life  of  General  Garfield.  I  read  a  lesson 
also  as  to  the  steps  by  which  permanent  fame  can  be  gained. 
Our  lamented  president  was  no  demagogue.  As  a  young 
man  he  did  not  aim  at  a  political  life,  he  sought  no  popularity. 
He  aimed  to  make  himself  a  man,  to  cultivate  the  intelli- 
gence which  God  had  given  him,  and  for  this  purpose,  work- 
ing with  his  hands,  he  found  his  way  to  college,  and  spent 
years  in  close  study.  From  college  he  turned  to  teaching 
the  youth  of  his  native  land,  and  sought  to  impart  to  them 
the  knowledge  which  he  had  gained.  His  associates  per- 
ceived his  power  and  placed  him  in  office,  and  you  have 
heard  how  both  in  war  and  peace  he  showed  himself  wor- 
thy of  their  confidence. 

"  It  has  seemed  to  me  that  in  inflicting  upon  us  this  suf- 
fering, God  has  been  teaching  the  nations  of  the  earth  the 
strength  of  our  republic.  As  you  are  aware,  this  is  the 
fourth  time  a  president  has  given  way  to  a  vice-president 
under  peculiar  circumstances.  Two  of  those  presidents  died 
of  disease ;  Lincoln  and  Garfield  fell  by  the  assassin's  hand. 


460  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

Nevertheless,  amidst  these  trying  circumstances,  there  has 
never  been  a  single  voice  raised  against  the  succession  which 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  prescribes. 

"  The  death  of  President  Garfield  is  a  loss  to  every  one 
of  us,  and  yet,  somehow,  I  have  faith  that  it  will  be  a  gain 
to  the  world.  '  The  blood  of  the  martyrs,'  as  it  has  been 
said,  'is  the  seed  of  the  Church.'  And  I  believe  that  is 
true  in  politics  as  well  as  in  religion.  General  Garfield 
crowned  his  virtues  as  a  soldier  and  a  statesman  with  the 
virtues  of  a  true  Christian  life.  After  his  nomination  as 
president,  he  was  the  same  plain  man  that  he  was  before 
—  with  the  same  manly  bearing,  and  the  same  regularity 
of  attendance  at  the  church  of  his  own  people.  He  made 
himself  the  centre  of  his  household.  He  was  the  pride 
of  his  mother  —  he  was  her  darling  boy,  and,  perhaps, 
some  of  you  may  remember  that  when  the  news  reached 
her  that  some  one  had  shot  him,  she  cried,  forgetting 
all  about  his  presidency,  '  Who  could  be  so  cruel  and 
so  wicked  as  to  kill  my  baby  V  He  was  her  all  in  all.  It 
is  strange  how  an  all-absorbing  feeling  will  sometimes  re- 
flect itself  in  our  surroundings.  I  passed  to-day  the  monu- 
ments of  Wellington  and  Nelson,  and  it  seemed  to  me  the 
heads  of  those  heroes  were  bowed  in  grief.  As  I  passed 
Westminster  Abbey,  also,  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  holy 
dead  of  past  ages  looked  down  with  a  greater  solemnity, 
and  were  waiting  to  be  joined  in  that  upper  circle  by  the 
hero  of  the  Western  land." 

Here  were  cheers  at  a  memorial  service,  yet  they  did  not 
seem  to  those  who  were  there  incongruous.  Tears  flowed 
freely  while  the  bishop  was  speaking.  All  hearts  were 
melted.  As  if  moved  by  a  sudden  impulse,  the  audience 
sat  down  as  quickly  as  it  had  risen  up.  The  bishop  waited 
quietly,  and  then  went  on  as  before  in  the  same  tender 
strain.  This  was  one  of  the  last  flashes — as  far  as  I  know* 
the  last  flash — of  his  peculiar  electric  power. 


XX. 

LAST   DAYS. 

1882-1884. 


Serious  Nature  of  the  Attack  of  Illness  at  San  Francisco. — The  Bishop's 
Hopeful  Spirit. — Solicitude  of  his  Family  and  Friends. — His  Last  Ser- 
mon in  Boston,  in  the  Winter  of  1884. — Giving  Way  of  his  Strength. 
— General  Conference  Meets  in  May,  1884,  near  his  Home. — Opens  the 
Conference. — Unable  to  Preside  more  than  Once. — Occasional  Visits  to 
the  Conference  Sessions. — Closes  the  Conference  with  an  Address. — A 
Rallying  of  his  Strength,  Followed  by  Relapse. — Last  Words.— Death, 
June  18,  1884. 


UNABLE   TO  FINISH  HIS  SERMON.  463 


XX. 

The  attack  of  illness  with  which  Bishop  Simpson  had 
been  seized  while  in  San  Francisco,  during-  the  autumn  of 
1880,  meant  more  than  I  think  he  was  willing  to  confess. 
On  that  occasion  he  was,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  unable 
to  go  on  with  his  sermon.  It  was  on  a  Sunday  morning  in 
September.  He  had  taken  for  his  text  the  forty-fourth  verse 
of  the  second  chapter  of  Daniel :  "  And  in  the  days  of  these 
kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which 
shall  never  be  destroyed ;  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left 
to  other  people,  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all 
these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  forever."  His  exposition 
had  been  completed,  and  he  was  about  to  enter  upon  the 
discussion  of  his  theme,  when  he  suddenly  stopped  and 
placed  a  handkerchief  to  his  lips.  His  face  became  white, 
and  he  said,  after  a  pause  of  a  few  moments,  "I  am  not  sure 
I  shall  be  able  to  finish  this  sermon."  He  soon  became  very 
ill,  and  grasped  the  pulpit  for  support  with  both  hands.  He 
explained  to  the  congregation  that  he  had  suffered  from 
pain  in  the  night,  but  thought  that  once  started  he  would 
warm  to  his  work  and  get  on.  Eequesting  them  to  sing  a 
verse  or  two,  he  waited,  but  only  grew  worse.  During  the 
singing  a  physician  came  to  him,  felt  his  pulse,  warned  him 
that  he  was  threatened  with  a  congestive  chill,  and  directed 
his  removal  to  a  place  of  rest. 

Of  a  hopeful  temper,  he  could  not  be  persuaded  that  this 
was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  He  always  found,  if  that 
were  possible,  the  bright  side  of  every  event ;  he  had  been 
ill  before,  and  had  recovered — why  might  he  not  recover 


464  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

fully  again  ?  In  peril  and  disaster  he  had  always  committed 
himself  to  the  care  of  Providence,  and  had  given  himself 
up,  without  anxiety,  to  the  keeping  of  his  Father.  Years 
before  he  had  told  the  congregation,  which  he  had  reached 
belated  in  the  woods  of  Oregon,  that  while  threatened  with 
shipwreck  on  the  Pacific  he  had  thought  with  comfort  of 
the  lines  of  Henry  Kirk  White : 

"  Once  on  the  raging  seas  I  rode ; 

The  storm  was  loud,  the  night  was  dark, 
The  ocean  yawned,  and  rudely  blowed 

The  wind  that  tossed  my  foundering  bark. 
Deep  horror  then  my  vitals  froze — 

Death-struck,  I  ceased  the  tide  to  stem : 
When  suddenly  a  star  arose — 

It  was  the  Star  of  Bethlehem." 

This  cheerful  confidence  was  the  habit  of  his  mind ;  and 
so  he  went  on,  during  the  year  1881,  doing  the  splendid  ser- 
vice in  England  which  has  already  been  described.  Friends 
were  watching  him,  however,  with  an  increasing  solicitude. 
He  travelled  less  alone  than  he  had  before.  After  his  re- 
turn from  England  he  still  continued  in  his  usual  routine  of 
official  duty,  holding  Annual  Conferences,  and  answering, 
too  liberally,  the  calls  of  the  churches  for  his  services.  His 
last  sermon,  delivered  at  the  dedication  of  the  People's 
Church  in  Boston,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  of  1884, 
was  full  of  his  old-time  power.  The  text  was  from 
Isaiah  ix.  6 :  "  For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son 
is  given ;  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder : 
and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The 
mighty  God,  The  everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace." 
As  he  spoke  of  the  sureness  of  the  coming  of  a  reign  of 
peace,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  think  I  see  the  light  shining  now  on 
the  hill-top.  Christ's  kingdom  is  coming,  and  the  song  shall 
arise, '  Hallelujah !  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth !'  " 

Surely  hope  sprang  eternal  in  this  man's  breast.  But  the 
trip  to  Boston  and  the  exertion  of  preaching  were  followed 


AT  TEE   GENERAL    CONFERENCE  OF  1SS4.  465 

by  a  reaction.  Shortly  before  the  meeting  of  the  General 
Conference  of  1884,  at  Philadelphia,  the  bishop's  strength 
wholly  gave  way.  The  uneasiness  of  all  who  loved  him — 
that  is,  of  the  whole  Church — was  much  increased.  Greater 
than  the  fear  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  attend  the  Con- 
ference, which  would  sit  so  near  his  own  house-door,  was 
the  fear  felt  by  his  friends  that  his  iron  will  would  bring1 
him  to  its  sessions,  and  that  this  effort  would  result  in  a  fatal 
relapse.  However,  as  before,  his  determination  and  hopeful- 
ness enabled  him  to  rally ;  although  feeble,  he  presided  at 
the  opening  session.  But  he  could  take  little  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings ;  an  occasional  appearance  in  the  hall  of  assembly, 
which  was  always  the  signal  for  an  outburst  of  applause, 
was  the  only  sign  he  could  give  of  his  interest  in  the  debates. 
He  was  also  able  to  take  part  in  the  consecration  of 
the  bishops  elected  \>y  this  Conference,  and,  to  the  joy  of 
all  and  the  surprise  of  many,  he  made  the  closing  speech 
at  the  end  of  the  session,  Friday  evening,  May  28th.  I 
think  he  was  conscious  that  this  might  be  his  last  public 
address,  and  he  put  into  its  simple,  touching  words  all  the 
kindliness  of  feeling  he  cherished  for  his  brethren.  He 
said :  "  Brethren  of  the  General  Conference,  at  this  clos- 
ing moment  it  is  fitting  I  should  give  utterance  only  to 
a  very  few  words.  I  wish  to  express  my  regret  that  I  have 
not  been  permitted  to  mingle  more  intimately  with  mem- 
bers of  this  body  during  their  session  in  this  place.  But  I 
have  been  very  much  gratified  with  such  association  as  I 
have  been  permitted  to  enjoy,  and  I  desire  to  express  the 
pleasure  I  have  felt  in  witnessing  occasionally  your  delibera- 
tions. It  has  been  my  privilege  to  see  a  number  of  General 
Conferences.  My  first  was  forty  years  ago,  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  Wise  and  great  and  good  men  were  there, 
of  whom  only  one,  I  think,  remains  in  this  body,  Dr.  Trim- 
ble. 1  believe  he  and  Dr.  Curry  are  the  only  two  mem- 
bers who  were  present  in  184S  that  still  remain.  I  have 
seen  the  composition  of  the  body  change  from  time  to  time, 
30 


460  LIFE  OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

and  I  want  to  say  this — that  my  conviction  is  that  there 
never  has  assembled  a  more  distinguished,  a  more  able, 
and  a  more  cultured  body  of  delegates  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  than  now.  It  is  true  that  there  is  a 
larger  proportion  of  youthful  members  than  we  have  had 
in  former  General  Conferences ;  but  it  is  exceedingly  grat- 
ifying to  me,  as  I  feel  that  the  shadows  are  gathering 
around  me  and  others,  to  see  young  men,  truly  cultured 
and  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  able  to  come  forward 
and  take  the  reins  of  the  Church  and  guide  it  so  successfully 
onward.  May  God  be  gracious  to  them  and  make  them 
greater  than  the  fathers. 

"  I  desire  also  to  say  that  I  have  been  released  with  the 
results  of  your  deliberations.  While  there  is  a  diversity  of 
opinion  upon  some  subjects,  and  must  always  be  in  a  body 
of  this  kind,  yet  I  think  that  the  results  of  your  delibera- 
tions have  been  for  the  good  of  the  Church  and  for  the 
glory  of  God.  Some  very  important  measures,  I  think,  have 
been  enacted,  and  I  believe  the  Church  will  go  forward  with 
increased  strength  and  power  from  this  time. 

"  And  now,  brethren,  a  word  personally.  I  have  no  words 
to  declare  the  gratitude  of  my  heart  for  the  many  courtesies 
and  the  kindly  utterances  you  have  made.  They  will  be 
embalmed  in  my  heart  forever.  Whatever  the  future  may 
be,  whatever  of  time  and  strength  I  may  have,  all  belong 
to  the  cause  of  Christ.  And  may  we  go  forward  from  this 
time,  dear  brethren,  to  try  to  do  more  vigorous  work  than 
we  have  ever  done.  May  we  have  the  spirit  of  deep  conse- 
cration. May  we  pray  for  a  more  powerful  outpouring  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  May  we  look  for  revivals  all  over  our 
country,  until  multiplied  thousands  shall  be  converted  to 
God.  And  now,  dear  brethren,  in  closing  this  service  and 
bidding  you  farewell,  I  pray  that  God  may  be  with  you  and 
protect  you  in  your  journeyings  to  your  respective  homes. 
May  you  find  your  families  in  peace  and  safety  and  prosper- 
ity, and  may  God  ever  pour  upon  you  the  riches  of  his  grace." 


THE   CALMNESS  OF  ASSURED    VICTORY.  4G7 

After  these  words  he  pronounced  the  benediction,  and  so 
closed  the  Conference  and  his  ministry. 

Bishop  Foster  speaks  very  beautifully  of  these  visits  of 
his  colleague  to  the  Conference :  "  When,  but  a  few  days 
ago,  he  came  in  among  us,  at  the  closing  hours  of  the  recent 
General  Conference,  to  pronounce  the  few  parting  words 
which  so  many  loving  hearts  waited  to  hear,  his  pallor 
frightened  us,  and  his  tremulous  voice  and  emaciated  form 
filled  us  with  distressing  apprehensions ;  but  we  little  thought 
the  dreaded  time  was  so  near.  And  yet,  as  we  look  back 
now,  we  realize  how,  in  each  of  his  few  brief  visits  during 
the  session,  welcome  as  they  were,  making  our  hearts  to 
leap  within  us,  he  seemed  even  then  not  to  be  of  us,  as  he 
was  wont ;  but  rather  as  one  perceptibly  withdrawing  him- 
self. There  is  no  mistaking  it  now — he  was  already  con- 
sciously loosening  the  strong  ligaments  which  had  so  long 
bound  him  to  the  earthly  Church,  and  quietly  transferring 
its  care  to  other  hands  after  he  should  depart.  As  we  see 
it  now,  and  as  we  are  now  conscious  of  dimly  seeing  it  then, 
there  was  something  in  his  manner  of  coming  and  going 
which  denoted  that  he  was  even  then  being  parted  from  us. 
He  seemed  to  be  saying,  as  indeed  he  did  in  every  word, 
'  My  work  is  done,'  and  he  was  as  one  surveying  the  situa- 
tion ere  he  departed.  There  was  a  beautiful  serenity,  a 
dignified  repose,  in  his  manner  and  in  his  communications 
which  we  all  felt ;  noticeably  the  absence,  not  of  interest, 
but  of  all  anxiety  and  all  desire  to  mingle  any  more 
in  the  struggle  which  had  been  his  very  life.  It  was  so 
when  he  conferred  with  his  colleagues  in  their  frequent 
visits  at  his  home.  He  was  feeling  still  sympathetic  inter- 
est, but  he  was  as  one  who  had  fought,  and  was  content  and 
assured  of  the  victory  without  putting  his  hand  any  more 
to  the  conflict." 

Notwithstanding  the  great  effort  it  cost  him  to  deliver 
his  address,  he  continued  to  improve  for  several  days  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  General  Conference.     He  even  ral- 


468  LIFE   OF  MATTHEW  SIMPSON. 

lied  so  far  as  to  plan  and  prepare  for  a  journey  to  Clifton 
Springs.  "  But,"  says  Dr.  Kynett,  whose  narrative  we  shall 
now  follow,  "within  a  day  or  two  of  the  date  fixed  for 
his  departure,  his  strength  utterly  gave  way,  and  his  physi- 
cians were  constrained  to  say  that  there  was  no  reasonable 
ground  to  hope  for  any  improvement,  and  thought  that  the 
hour  of  his  departure  was  at  hand.  During  most  of  the 
time  he  suffered  greatly,  and  could  converse  but  little.  That 
little,  however,  showed  clearly  that  he  possessed  the  full 
control  of  his  intellectual  faculties.  In  this  condition,  for 
nearly  a  week  longer  than  his  physicians  thought  possible, 
his  remarkable  vital  power  struggled  with  death. 

"Only  the  immediate  members  of  his  family  were  admit- 
ted to  his  room,  as  the  utmost  possible  quiet  was  important. 
( )n  Wednesday,  June  11,  in  answer  to  the  inquiries  of  his  son- 
in-law,  Iiev.  Charles  TV.  Buoy,  he  replied,  in  terms  often  used 
when  in  health, 'I  am  a  sinner  saved  by  grace.  O,  to  be 
like  Him  !  O,  to  see  Him  as  He  is!'  To  the  question, '  Is 
Jesus  precious  V  he  answered,  '  Precious !  precious !'  and 
quoted  the  text,  'To  you  which  believe,  he  is  precious!' 
And  again  he  exclaimed, '  O.  the  wonderful  possibilities  be- 
yond !'  Thursday,  June  12,  he  exclaimed,  with  tender  pa- 
thos, '  My  Saviour !  my  Saviour !'  and  quoted  the  glorious 
promise  now  being  fulfilled  in  him :  '  When  thou  passest 
through  the  waters  I  will  be  with  thee ;  and  through  the 
rivers  they  shall  not  overflow  thee !'  Friday,  June  13,  in 
the  midst  of  suffering,  he  exclaimed, '  Father,  thou  knowest ! 
When  the  verse  Avas  quoted, 

"  '  O  would  he  more  of  heaven  bestow, 

And  let  the  vessels  break, 
And  let  our  ransomed  spirits  go 

To  grasp  the  God  we  seek ; 
In  rapturous  awe  on  him  to  gaze 

"Who  bought  the  sight  for  me ; 
And  shout  and  wonder  at  his  grace 

Through  all  eternity,' 


THE  LAST  WORDS.  469 

he  repeated  the  last  two  lines, 

"  'And  shout  and  wonder  at  his  grace 
Through  all  eternity.' 

"  Sunday,  June  15,  at  about  daybreak,  he  roused  up  with 
unexpected  strength,  for  his  death  was  hourly  expected. 
Mrs.  Buoy,  who  was  watching  with  him,  read  Psalm  ciii., 
one  of  the  bishop's  favorites,  commencing, '  Bless  the  Lord, 
O  my  soul ;  and  all  that  is  within  me,  bless  his  holy  name.' 
During  the  reading  he  responded  frequently  in  a  quiet  Avay. 
Mrs.  Simpson  repeated  the  first  verse  of  Charles  Wesley's 
hymn, '  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul,'  and  to  the  last  line, '  O  re- 
ceive my  soul  at  last,'  he  responded  distinctly,  though  in 
feeble  accents, '  My  Saviour !  my  Saviour !'  These  were  the 
last  words  which  fell  from  his  lips.  He  lingered  on  in 
silence  until  Wednesday  morning,  June  18,  at  8:40  o'clock. 
Had  he  lived  three  days  longer  he  would  have  completed 
seventy-three  years  upon  the  earth." 


Of  the  sorrow  which  was  felt  at  home  and  abroad,  when 
the  news  of  his  death  was  announced — of  the  funeral  and 
memorial  services — this  is  not  the  place  to  speak.  A  typical 
American  life  has  been  delineated  in  these  pages — a  life  be- 
ginning under  lowly  conditions,  and  ending  in  honor.  As 
to  eulogy — the  record  of  what  he  did,  of  what  he  said  to  his 
fellow-men,  and  of  what  he  was,  is  the  best  eulogy  of  Bishop 
Simpson  that  can  be  written. 


APPENDIX 


I. 

THE  PUBLISHED  WORKS  OF  BISHOP  SIMPSON. 

1.  Cyclopaedia  of  Methodism.    Embracing  Sketches  of  its  Rise,  Progress, 

and  Present  Condition,  with  Biographical  Notices  and  Numerous  Il- 
lustrations. Philadelphia.  Everts  &  Stuart.  1878.  (Containing  a 
Bibliography  of  Methodist  Works  in  England  and  America.) 

2.  A  Hundred  Years  of  Methodism.   New  York.    Phillips  &  Hunt.  1876. 

3.  Lectures  on  Preaching,  Delivered  before  the  Theological  Department 

of  Yale  College.     New  York.     M.  E.  Book  Concern.     1879. 

4.  Funeral  Address  Delivered  at  the  Burial  of  President  Lincoln,  Spring- 

field, 111.,  May  4,  18G5.  Pamphlet.  New  York.  Carlton  &  Porter. 
1865. 

5.  Sermons.    Edited  from  Short-hand  Reports  by  George  R.  Crooks,  D.D. 

New  York.     Harper  &  Brothers.     1885. 


II. 

PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 

GKEENCASTLE,   END.,   SEPT.  10,  1S40. 

When  a  celebrated  Grecian  artist  was  asked  why  lie  spent  so  much 
time  and  labor  in  finishing  the  productions  of  his  pencil,  his  simple  and 
laconic  reply  was,  "  I  paint  for  eternity."  And  were  we  to  inquire  why 
this  noble  edifice  has  been  erected — and  why,  on  this  first  literary  anni- 
versary within  its  halls,  there  is  such  a  congregation  of  the  talents  and 
beauty  of  our  enterprising,  though  youthful  state — and  why  such  a  deep 
interest  is  felt  in  the  exercises  of  this  day,  doubtless  the  friends  of  the 
institution  would  respond,  "  We  paint  for  eternity."  This  thought  of 
interminable  effects,  of  ceaseless  consequences  flowing  from  every  im- 
portant event,  confers  an  inexpressible  interest  upon  every  effort  to  cul- 
tivate the  intellect.  The  brightest  colors  of  the  canvas  will  fade,  and 
the  fabric  itself  decay ;  even  the  sculptured  monument  will  crumble  into 
dust;  but  imperishable,  as  the  mind  itself,  will  remain  every  lineament, 
feature,  and  color  imprinted  upon  it  in  time,  and  eternity's  pure  light 
shall  only  serve  to  exhibit  still  more  conspicuously  its  excellence  or  de- 
formity. Fountains,  oftentimes,  burst  forth  to  spread  their  enlivening 
waters  upon  the  surrounding  land ;  yet  in  the  lapse  of  time  they  may 
cease  to  flow.  But  here  is  a  fountain  now  opened,  whence  shall  issue  an 
uninterruptedly  flowing  stream.  Tall  trees  shall  grow  upon  its  banks, 
and  luxuriate  in  the  richness  of  the  soil,  fertilized  by  its  waters;  but 
whether  their  fruit  shall  be  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,  or,  like 
the  fabled  Upas,  become  a  source  of  pestilence  or  death,  must  be  princi- 
pally determined  by  the  arrangements  adopted  and  carried  into  perfec- 
tion. 

Your  speaker  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  interest  of  this  moment.  The 
surrounding  circumstances,  the  eloquently  impressive  charge,  the  high 
trust  committed  to  his  care,  and  the  almost  immeasurable  responsibility 
connected  with  it,  stand  vividly  before  him.  Insensible  to  feeling  must 
he  be,  did  he  not  tremble  at  the  magnitude  of  the  trust,  and  yet  recreant 
to  true  principle,  did  he  not  entertain  some  hope  of  being  able  to  dis- 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.      475 

charge  its  duties  with  fidelity.  The  great  cause  in  which  we  are  en- 
gaged, which  has  convened  this  assembly,  is  of  the  utmost  importance. 
It  is  no  less  than  directing  the  efforts,  and  in  some  degree  forming  the 
character  of  immortal  intellects.  And  it  may  be  profitable  for  us  to 
consider  some  of  the  reasons  which  should  excite  us  to  vigorous  exer- 
tions. 

1st.  Man  is  the  creature  of  education.  By  this  we  do  not  mean  that 
either  colleges  or  common  schools  give  the  entire  direction  to  a  man's 
life,  nor  yet,  that  they  supply  what  is  naturally  deficient  in  intellect ;  but 
we  do  mean  that  all  his  actions  are  under  the  influence  of  education. 
This  term,  in  its  most  extensive  signification,  includes  the  development 
and  strengthening  of  man's  powers,  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral,  to- 
gether with  the  accumulation  of  all  the  varied  information  which  he  may 
be  capable  of  receiving.  The  truth  of  our  proposition  will  be  manifest 
if  we  consider  his  circumstances.  In  infancy,  he  is  the  most  helpless  of 
all  animals.  Furnished  with  senses  in  perfection,  he  knows  nothing. 
Passive,  he  waits  upon  the  kindness  and  attention  of  others,  and  is 
scarcely  able  to  perform  an  intelligent  action.  It  is  not  so  with  other 
animals.  They  need  not  education.  Knowledge  to  them  is  intuitive. 
The  young  nursling  of  the  forest  instinctively  springs  to  his  feet.  The 
merry  warbler  of  the  grove  pours  fourth  its  soul  in  melody,  unconscious 
of  the  effort  to  learn,  and,  though  separated  from  its  entire  species,  as 
natural  as  to  mount  on  sportive  wing  is  it  for  the  lark  or  nightingale  to 
strike  its  enchanting  notes.  But  man  learns  everything.  The  use  of  his 
limbs  is  acquired  only  after  long  repeated  efforts ;  every  word  he  utters, 
every  musical  note  which  he  sounds,  is  the  result  of  imitation.  And  yet, 
when  his  powers  are  developed,  he  makes  all  animated  nature  serve  him. 
He  harnesses  the  fleetest  to  his  chariot,  and  subjugates  the  strongest  to 
his  service. 

The  same  difference  is  perceptible  in  their  various  operations.  The 
architecture  of  animals  is  regular  and  uniform.  The  fowls  of  the  air 
construct  their  nests,  each  after  its  kind,  and  not  so  constant  is  the  color 
and  plumage  of  each  species  as  the  order  they  observe  in  all  their  arrange- 
ments. The  beaver  builds  his  dam  as  his  sires  did  before  him,  without 
alteration  or  improvement.  The  bee,  for  nearly  six  thousand  years,  has 
regularly  built  and  inhabited  his  hexagonal  cell.  But  man  varies  his 
work  as  he  is  taught.  The  wigwam  of  the  Indian  and  the  subterranean 
hovel  of  the  Laplander  stand  in  striking  contrast  to  the  pyramid  of  Egypt, 
the  rock-hewn  palaces  of  Petra,  or  the  hundred-pillared  domes  of  Thebes. 

The  lion  may  be  caged  for  years,  he  is  a  lion  still.  The  blood-thirsti- 
ness of  the  tiger  is  not  abated  by  confinement  or  discipline.  But  how 
different  is  man  !    With  the  same  form,  he  is  another  being.    As  a  savage, 


470  APPENDIX. 

lie  roams  the  forest,  feeds  on  beasts  of  prey,  or  greedily  devours  the  flesh 
of  his  enemy ;  has  no  bed  but  the  forest  leaves  or  the  river's  sand,  and, 
save  the  skins  of  beasts  scarcely  wilder  than  himself,  no  protection  against 
inclement  seasons.  He  drags  out  a  miserable  existence,  oblivious  of  all 
the  past  but  wickedness,  careless  as  to  the  present,  save  what  will  gratify 
appetite,  and  thoughtless  of  the  future  but  to  perpetrate  crime.  View 
him,  civilized,  instructed,  illuminated  by  the  word  of  God  and  the  agen- 
cy of  the  Holy  Spirit — he  has  all  the  treasures  of  history  as  examples,  a 
knowledge  of  the  world,  himself,  and  his  God.  Nature  is  tributary  to 
his  designs,  the  elements  wrait  on  his  bidding.  He  surrounds  himself  in 
this  world  with  multiplied  comforts,  and,  in  the  next,  he  stands  amid 
bright  and  holy  intelligences,  and  bows  only  to  the  throne  of  God. 

2d.  He  is  perpetually  receiving  an  education.  Were  the  mind  inactive 
but  when  urged  by  effort,  we  might  be  more  careless  upon  this  subject. 
It  would  then  be  as  paper  uj)on  which  no  characters  were  traced  and 
prepared  for  a  future  penman.  But  it  is  not  so.  A  ready  penman  is  un- 
ceasingly at  work,  and  the  sheets  are  being  filled  with  characters  of 
virtue  or  of  vice.  In  his  waking  moments  the  mind  is  perpetually  active. 
The  eye  is  never  satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  with  hearing.  The 
youth  may  not  be  at  school,  no  means  may  be  employed  to  give  him  in- 
struction, but  he  is  ever  learning.  In  childhood  he  acquires  the  elements 
of  all  subsequent  knowledge.  He  learns  to  speak,  to  think,  and  to  feel. 
His  teachers  are  indeed  in  the  nursery,  but  they  are  no  less  efficient  for 
teaching  unintentionally.  From  childhood  upwards,  whether  at  home 
or  abroad,  silent  or  in  conversation,  at  labor  or  amusement,  something  is 
occurring  to  furnish  new  ideas  to  the  mind.  Every  sight  produces  an 
impression,  the  nature  of  which  varies  with  the  cause;  every  sound  sug- 
gests thoughts;  and  lessons,  determining  future  character,  are  every  mo- 
ment furnished  either  from  good  or  from  evil  sources. 

3d.  Our  only  poicer  is  to  choose  in  what  the  youth  shall  be  educated. 
This  is  the  only  question  which  can,  strictly  speaking,  be  proposed  to  the 
parent  or  guardian.  We  have  already  seen  that  a  youth  is  continually 
acquiring  some  education,  and  the  only  power  we  have  is  to  give  it  proper 
direction.  We  may  not  attempt  to  stay  the  current,  but  wTe  may  prepare 
the  channel.  The  father  who  neglects  or  refuses  to  send  his  son  to  school 
or  to  college,  only  chooses  for  him  an  education  at  home.  He  intrusts 
him  not  to  men  of  intellectual  attainments  and  high  moral  worth,  but  he 
permits  him  to  associate  with  the  licentious  and  profane.  He  is  taught 
no  science  but  the  science  of  wickedness.  He  learns  the  foolish  jest,  the 
impure  song,  and  the  profane  exclamation.  His  teachers  are  the  drunk- 
ard and  the  debauchee ;  with  them  he  joins  in  revelry  and  crime,  and 
bids  fair  to  disgrace  his  friends  and  injure  community,  if  not  to  bring 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.     477 

himself  to  an  untimely  grave.  Yet  how  many  fathers  choose  precisely 
such  an  education  for  their  sons,  under  the  impression  that  they  are  not 
educating  them  at  all.  In  this  matter  a  fearful  responsibility  rests  upon 
parents.  A  responsibility  which  even  in  this  world  is  felt,  by  sometimes 
bringing  down  their  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave,  and  the  effects, 
in  the  invisible  world,  nought  but  the  2)encil  of  God  can  portray,  no  can- 
vas but  eternity  contain.  We  have  said  the  question  never  can  arise, 
whether  our  youth  shall  be  educated,  but  in  what  shall  they  be  educated? 
In  his  creative  wisdom,  God  has  placed  some  things  beyond  the  control 
of  human  volition.  As  the  heart  waits  not  on  the  will  to  give  its  pulsa- 
tion, or  the  nerves  to  convey  sensation,  so  the  mind  waits  not  to  receive 
intelligence.  Vital  action  depends  not  on  a  principle  so  fluctuating  as 
volition.  Nor  is  it  merely  a  capacity  for  knowledge,  but  a  desire  for  it, 
which  God  has  implanted  in  man.  The  desire  for  happiness  contains  a 
thirst  for  knowledge.  Happiness  is  but  an  expanded  flow  of  agreeable 
consciousness.  This  is  greatly  dependent  upon  the  healthy  operation  of 
the  senses,  which  are  the  inlets  of  knowledge ;  and  these  must  be  in 
ceaseless  activity  to  secure  perpetual  happiness.  Hence,  whenever  the 
desire  for  happiness  is  found,  there  is  a  thirst  for  knowledge.  This  in 
our  common  language  is  termed  curiosity.  It  is  manifested  alike  in  the 
politician  who  eagerly  waits  for  news,  the  child  that,  with  breathless  anx- 
iety, listens  to  the  thrilling  story,  or  the  gossip  that  longs  to  hear  the 
slanderous  tale.  It  cannot  be  eradicated  by  art,  and  its  strength  can 
only  be  estimated  by  observing  what  it  has  done.  It  was  the  strength  of 
this  principle  to  which  an  appeal  was  made  by  the  subtle  tempter  when 
seducing  our  first  parents.  "  Ye  shall  be  as  gods,  and  knowing  good 
and  evil.1'  The  temptation,  we  too  well  know,  was  a  fatal  one.  "With 
the  obscuration  of  the  other  powers,  in  the  fall,  this  retained  its  full 
force.  To  gratify  this  desire,  men  had  recourse,  anciently,  to  omens,  au- 
guries, and  oracles.  Impatient  of  being  denied  the  knowledge  of  the 
future,  they  sought  with  unhallowed  hands  to  tear  away  the  veil,  and 
seek  that  from  demons  which  God,  in  his  wisdom,  had  withheld.  We 
need  hardly  say  the  attempt  was  vain.  Yet,  baffled  a  thousand  times, 
again  they  turned  to  any  impostor  who  pretended  to  be  endowed  with 
prescience.  The  same  disposition  is  still  manifested,  in  modes  slightly 
different.  The  entire  machinery  of  fortune-telling,  interpreting  dreams, 
omens,  lucky  and  unlucky  occurrences,  are  but  a  part  and  parcel  of  that 
system  which  was  devised  to  scale  the  battlements  of  heaven — a  part  of 
that  Babel  from  which  it  is  intended  to  look  into  the  invisible  world  in 
despite  of  Jehovah's  authority.  Strange  to  tell,  among  professed  Chris- 
tians some  of  them  are  still  found,  but  their  origin  is  easily  described. 
They  have  been  purloined  from  pagan  superstitions,  as  Rachel  stole  the 


47S  APPENDIX. 

gods  of  lier  father.  But  though  frequently  misapplied,  yet  Christianity 
does  not  seek  to  destroy  this  principle,  she  only  purifies  and  directs  it  to 
its  proper  objects.  Some  of  her  most  powerful  motives  are  addressed  to 
it.  She  Ins  drawn  in  part  the  veil  from  futurity.  Light  and  immortal- 
ity are  brought  to  light  in  the  gospel.  The  glories  of  a  heavenly  in- 
heritance stand  forth  in  bold  relief;  and  when  looking  farther  and 
farther  into  the  abode  of  bliss,  Nature  sinks  overwhelmed  with  the  ex- 
cessive brightness  of  the  eternal  throne,  Christianity  whispers,  "  When  He 
shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is.  Then 
shall  we  know  even  as  we  are  known."  The  desire  for  knowledge 
then  existing,  and  being  intended  to  exist,  boundless  and  insatiable,  re- 
stricted only  by  God's  eternal  law,  our  only  duty  is  to  direct  it  to  proper 
objects. 

4th.  Individual  character  depends  upon  the  hind  of  instruction  received. 
While  the  mind  has  power  to  understand  almost  every  subject,  it  will 
improve  only  in  those  things  in  which  it  is  exercised,  and  in  those  it  will 
assuredly  excel.  For  this  reason  early  and  close  attention  should  be 
paid  to  the  tuition  of  children.  No  habit  is  acquired  without  practice. 
Practice  requires  effort,  and  effort  attention.  Yet  a  small  circumstance 
frequently  determines  that  attention,  and  thus  forms  the  character  for  life. 
A  noted  duellist  traced  his  course  to  a  declaration  made  by  his  father  to 
him  when  he  was  a  little  boy,  that  he  would  chastise  him  if  he  should 
tamely  receive  an  insult.  This  fired  his  bosom  with  passion,  and  he  be- 
came a  deliberate  murderer.  The  remarkable  equanimity  of  Washington 
has  been  ascribed,  and  not  improbably,  to  the  influence  of  parental  in- 
struction. The  genius  of  Hannibal,  while  he  was  yet  a  child,  was  fired 
against  the  Romans  by  his  father,  and  he  became  their  most  successful 
antagonist.  Perhaps  the  influence  of  education  can  scarcely  be  more 
clearly  exemplified  than  in  the  well-known  instance  of  the  Spartan  boy, 
who,  having  been  taught  that  it  was  honorable  to  steal,  but  dishonorable 
to  be  detected,  thrust  a  stolen  fox  under  his  cloak,  and  lest  it  should  be 
discovered,  stood  unmoved  until  it  gnawed  into  his  vitals,  and  he  fell  a 
sacrifice  to  his  firmness.  Nothing  is  so  foreign  to  the  mind  but  it  may 
become  familiar.  Proof  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  ancient  gladiatorial 
exercises.  The  most  delicate  and  refined  females,  whose  bosoms  had  else 
swelled  with  tenderness  and  love,  delighted,  day  after  day,  to  crowd  the 
immense  amphitheatres  to  witness  men  fighting  with  wild  beasts  or  mur- 
dering each  other.  And  those  voices,  which  were  attuned  to  sound  in 
unison  with  Heaven's  own  minstrelsy,  were  heard  to  swell  the  deafening 
shouts  of  applause  at  the  gracefulness  and  dexterity  of  the  stroke  which 
brought  the  life's  blood  gushing  warm  from  its  hidden  fount. 

Excellence  is  the  result  of  continued  exertion.    This  principle  accounts 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.     479 

for  the  acute  bearing  of  the  Indian  when  listening  for  game  or  an  enemy, 
for  the  agility  of  the  mountebank  in  balancing  in  difficult  attitudes  upon 
his  wire,  and  for  the  deep  researches  of  the  mathematician,  who  seems  to 
have  readied  the  very  boundaries  of  human  thought.  The  youth  who 
is  now  seen  sporting  in  the  streets,  and  foremost  in  every  species  of  im- 
piety, had  he  been  properly  educated,  might  have  become  the  pride  of 
his  parents  and  the  glory  of  his  country. 

Since  man  is  thus  influenced  by  his  associations,  and  is  the  creature 
of  education,  we  see  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  Creator  in  subject- 
ing him  to  a  long  and  guarded  pupilage.  Were  he  able,  in  a  few  mo- 
ments from  infancy,  to  mingle  in  the  busy  scenes  of  life,  and  behold  the 
enormities  daily  perpetrated,  deep  corruption  would  be  the  inevitable 
result.  But  mark  the  order  of  Providence  !  He  must  lie  in  the  arms  of 
an  attentive  mother.  Her  watchfulness  guards  him  from  danger.  And 
if  she  be,  as  Heaven  designed  her,  an  exemplification  of  amiability  and 
grace,  "  if  heaven  be  in  her  eye,  grace  in  her  step,  in  every  gesture  dignity 
and  love,"  if  she  have  the  spirit  of  her  station,  a  heart  deeply  imbued 
with  the  riches  of  the  gospel,  she  will  cultivate  in  her  offspring  a  spirit 
of  tenderness  and  affection,  a  spirit  of  jaiety  and  love.  And  if  in  after- 
life he  should  be  tossed  upon  a  tempestuous  sea,  and  fearful  ruin,  amid 
conflicting  elements,  threaten  his  destruction,  if  he  should  even  be  agi- 
tated by  the  ragiugs  of  passion,  his  soul  will  ever  and  anon  return  to 
that  peaceful  calm  which  a  mother's  prayers  and  tears  have  inspired  in 
his  bosom.  The  same  principles  extend  to  a  more  advanced  period  of 
life.  The  studies  pursued,  and  the  teachers  from  whom  instruction  is 
received,  must  in  a  great  degree  determine  future  character.  Who  would 
send  a  son  to  be  reared  among  savages,  or  would  wish  his  companions 
to  be  licentious  and  profane  ?  If,  then,  the  kind  of  instruction  determines 
character,  the  prosperity  of  our  youth  depends  upon  their  parents,  their 
teachers,  and  their  friends.  If  we  wish  them  to  grovel  in  ignorance  and 
crime,  let  us  permit  them  to  associate  with  those  already  proficient  in 
iniquity,  but  if  we  wish  them  to  be  virtuous  and  honorable,  if  we  wish 
them  to  aspire  to  places  of  usefulness  and  distinction,  we  must  sedulously 
promote  their  improvement. 

5th.  National  character  depends  upon  the  same  cause.  This  we  might 
deduce  by  argument  from  the  previous  position.  Nations  are  but  com- 
binations of  societies,  societies  aggregations  of  families,  and  families  a 
union  of  individuals.  Whatever,  then,  affects  individuals,  must  be  ex- 
pected to  exert  its  influence  upon  nations. 

The  ancient  Greeks  devotedly  aspired  after  physical  excellence.  By 
athletics  they  improved  the  bodies  of  their  youth.  The  honors  bestowed 
upon   victors  in  the  games  were  well  calculated  to    excite  ambition. 


4S0  APPENDIX. 

From  childhood  upwards  they  sought  to  develop  every  muscle,  and 
five  to  every  feature  its  full  expression,  and  modesty  itself  was  sacrificed 
to  this  all-absorbing  passion. 

The  legitimate  consequence  was,  that  under  such  training  the  human 
frame  attained  its  maximum  of  development.  Their  beauteous  forms 
still  stand  unrivalled  upon  the  painter's  canvas,  and  swell  in  full  sym- 
metry from  the  sculptured  marble.  And  at  present,  artists  never  think 
themselves  capable  of  excellence  until  they  have  first  studied  those  pro- 
ductions of  antiquity.  Clitics  have  thought  and  affirmed  that  these 
productions  were  not  copies  from  nature;  but  if  not,  they  clearly  mani- 
fest the  prevailing  taste  of  that  age,  whose  ideal  forms  have  never  been 
surpassed.  Praxiteles  and  Apelles  still  live  in  their  works  as  master 
spirits  in  this  department  of  design.  Patriotism  also  was  early  taught 
their  youth,  and  everything  dishonorable  and  disgraceful  was  associated 
with  the  coward's  name.  And  their  plains  and  mountains  have  long 
been  celebrated  in  song,  as  the  theatres  of  their  valor.  In  the  later  days 
of  Rome  wealth  was  substituted  for  honor,  and  for  bravery,  intrigue. 
Scarcely  had  the  maxim  "Omnia  venalia  sunt  Romoe"  been  adopted, 
until  her  youth  burst  the  barriers  of  law,  and  trampled  upon  rights 
human  and  divine.  In  our  own  age,  the  dauntless  bravery  of  the  Swiss, 
the  enterprise  of  the  English,  the  inextinguishable  love  of  home  felt  by 
the  Chinese  and  by  the  Laplander,  the  ardent  love  of  liberty  in  Colum- 
bia's sons,  and  the  abject  submission  of  the  Hindoo,  are  all  the  result  of 
early  education.  The  elemeuts  may  be  found  in  the  language  of  the 
nursery.  An  eminent  physician  has  attributed  much  of  the  difference 
between  the  volatility  of  the  French,  and  the  gravity  of  the  German,  to 
their  treatment  in  infancy.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  German  is  taught  to 
respect  the  opinions  of  antiquity,  and  he  plays  his  music,  smokes  his  pipe, 
and  dwells  as  his  fathers  did  before  him.  The  French  are  taught  that 
glory  consists  in  innovation,  and  with  them  a  government  is  prostrated, 
and  a  new  one  erected  in  less  time  than  many  would  determine  upon 
the  structure  of  an  edifice. 

G(h.  True  fame  and  prosperity  depend  ap>on  intellectual  and  moral  cult- 
ure. However  famous  some  men  may  have  become  without  personal 
culture,  they  could  never  have  received  that  fame  but  through  the  cult- 
ure of  others.  The  heroes  of  Troy  had  long  since  been  forgotten  but  for 
Homer's  song,  and  the  noble  exploits  of  ancient  worthies  live  only  upon 
the  page  of  history.  But  those  who  became  famous  even  as  heroes  ex- 
celled their  associates  in  erudition.  Nestor,  Ulysses,  and  others  are 
represented  as  eloquent  as  they  were  brave.  Alexander  enjoyed  the 
instruction  of  Aristotle,  and  received  those  enlarged  and  comprehensive 
views  which  enabled  him  to  sweep  as  the  spirit  of  the  storm  over  the 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.     481 

habitable  world.*  Great  men  are,  indeed,  generally  the  birth  of  great 
times.  Men  as  splendid  in  intellect,  as  courageous,  as  patriotic  as  ever 
breathed,  frequently  are  unknown,  because  the  times  demand  not  those 
qualifications.  In  a  young  Alexander  is  personified  the  spirit  of  the 
times,  when  he  complained  lest  his  father  would  conquer  the  whole 
world,  and  leave  no  brilliant  achievement  for  him.  It  was  this  spirit 
that  Alexander  directed,  and  this  led  him  to  triumph;  yet  none  but  a 
master-spirit  could  have  presided  in  such  a  tempest.  But  passing  from 
heroes,  whose  names  are  those  which  stand  conspicuously  on  the  roll  of 
fame  ?  The  good,  the  wise,  the  great  men  of  splendid  intellects  and  re- 
fined feelings,  men  who  were  beloved  by  their  country,  their  age,  and  the 
world.  The  names  of  Cincinnatus,  of  Luther,  of  Bacon,  Newton,  and 
Howard  shall  never  die.  Though  ages  may  roll  away  and  myriads 
perish,  yet  phcenix-like  they  shall  rise  afresh  from  the  ashes  of  each  gen- 
eration, and  in  memory's  record  "  their  youth  shall  be  renewed  as  the 
eagles." 

The  position  may  be  more  fully  illustrated  by  a  reference  to  national 
history.  The  fame  of  no  nation  has  been  transmitted  to  us  but  by  rec- 
ords. And  just  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  writers  do  we  perceive 
the  character  of  the  times.  Athens  and  Sparta  were  rival  cities.  Both 
aimed  at  dominion,  both  strove  for  excellence.  At  Sparta,  learning  and 
science  were  prohibited.  Her  youths  were  taught  war,  and  the  bravery 
of  her  soldiers  has  never  been  surpassed.  At  Athens  they  taught  philos- 
ophy ;  her  temples  rose  in  splendor,  and  her  academies  were  crowded 
with 'students.  What  has  been  their  fate  ?  Athens  was  burned,  but  still 
she  flourishes.  There  Euripides,  Sophocles,  and  ^schylus  sung,  and  the 
air  sweeping  over  Attica's  sacred  soil,  and  visiting  those  revered  ruins, 
still  brings  to  our  cars  the  dying  strain.     There,  too,  Demosthenes  spoke 

and  eloquence  was  his.     Before  him  stood  breathless  multitudes,  who 

hung  upon  his  lips.  Rage  and  indignation  against  tyrants  were  kindled 
by  his  words,  and  Philip  dreaded  the  power  of  his  voice  more  than  the 
array  of  fleets  and  armies.  His  voice  yet  rings.  Many  a  youth  has  felt 
the  impulse  of  liberty  waked  by  his  words,  and  many  a  tyrant  has  turned 
pale  when  he  has  heard  the  mountains  reverberating  with  those  echoes 
of  liberty,  marshalling  her  heroes  to  glorious  conflict.  Xenophon  and 
Herodotus  wrote,  and  Sparta  is  known,  but  in  the  page  of  the  Athenian 
historian.  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle  philosophized,  and  while  the 
modern  philosopher  rejects  their  errors,  he  yet  bows  before  the  strength 

*In  one  of  Lis  letters  to  his  preceptor,  lie  remarks,  "  For  my  part  I  had  rather 
surpass  the  majority  of  mankind  in  the  sublime  parts  of  learning  than  in  extent 
of  power  and  dominion."  Julius  Caesar,  though  a  distinguished  hero,  has  always 
been  justly  admired  for  his  perspicuous  style  and  extensive  erudition.  ' 

31 


4S2  APPENDIX. 

of  those  intellects  which  pierced  the  surrounding  gloom,  and  towered, 
like  the  white-topped  mountains,  above  the  dark  and  pendent  cloud, 
displaying  their  beauties  to  a  cloudless  sky.  Sparta  is  gone,  but  Athens 
is  immortal. 

Carthage  was  once  the  rival  of  Rome.  She  had  wealth  almost  incal- 
culable; the  daughter  of  the  "merchaut  lady  of  the  East,"  she  inherited 
her  treasures.  Her  palaces  rose  in  gorgeous  architecture,  and  her  citizens 
were  brave. '  Once  in  the  terrible  conflict,  her  sons  scaled  the  mountain  s 
height,  and  came  down  on  Italy's  fair  plains  as  a  devastating  torrent, 
and  the  "eternal  city,"  as  an  aspen  leaf,  trembled  upon  her  seven  hills. 
Then  the  Carthagenians  might  have  been  victorious,  but,  alarmed  at  an 
unusually  terrific  storm,  they  delayed  to  prosecute  their  advantages,  and 
their  ignorance  was  the  salvation  of  Rome.  Where  now  is  Carthage  ? 
Gone  !  forever  gone.  Her  palaces  are  in  ruins,  her  splendor  exists  but  in 
song,  and  even  her  warriors  are  principally  indebted  to  the  history  of 
her  enemies  for  their  posthumous  fame.  Rome  still  exists,  though  not  in 
modern  Rome.  Wander  among  her  broken  columns  and  ruined  edifices, 
she  is  not  there.  Gaze  upon  her  crumbling  statuary  and  her  dimmed 
paintings,  she  is  not  there.  All  is  lifeless.  Then  open  the  treasures  of 
mind.  Tully  still  speaks  in  his  enchanting  strains.  Horace,  Ovid,  Vir- 
gil, and  Juvenal,  alternately,  depress  and  transport  us  with  their  songs. 
Livy,  Tacitus,  and  Sallust  present  us  living  Rome.  We  hear  her  orators 
and  poets,  and  her  most  glorious  triumphs  arc  enacted  before  our  vision. 
Her  laws  still  flourish  in  other  lands  and  other  climes.  Rome  said 
"Carthago  delenda  est,"  and  she  fell,  without  distinguished  sons  to 
transmit  her  name  to  posterity.  But  while  science  flourishes  and  lit- 
erature survives,  Rome  can  never  be  forgotten. 

We  have  another  striking  contrast  in  the  Israelites  and  the  Egyptians. 
The  princes  of  Egypt  had  large  dominions ;  their  land  was  fertile,  and, 
watered  by  their  celebrated  river,  brought  forth  abundantly.  They  also 
paid  considerable  attention  to  education,  but  their  trust  was  in  their 
wealth  and  power.  They  aimed  at  immortality,  and  the  broad-based 
pyramid  was  erected,  towering  with  its  mountain  structure  towards 
heaven.  Each  rocky  eminence  was  carved  into  a  Sphinx,  and  cata- 
combs, in  endless  succession  and  vast  in  extent,  were  formed  deep  in  the 
mountains  side.  Their  bodies  were  embalmed  to  resist  the  corrosion  of 
time,  and  the  latest  posterity  was  expected  to  do  them  honor.  The  en- 
slaved nation  had  no  such  monuments,  but  their  history  was  written. 
Moses,  whom  Lord  Bacon  quaintly  styles  "  God's  first  pen,"  formed  that 
record  which  still  speaks  of  the  beginning  of  ages.  In  that  history  alone 
ancient  Egypt  truly  lives,  all  else  is  impenetrably  enveloped  in  mist  and 
obscurity.     The  builder  of  the  pyramid  has  for  ages  been  unknown,  and 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.      483 

the  name  of  the  embalmed  has  long  since  been  forgotten.  And  when 
those  pyramids  shall  have  crumbled  into  dust,  and  the  last  trace  of  the 
embalmed  shall  have  forever  vanished,  that  history  shall  still  live  to  tell 
the  thrilling  story  of  Israel's  triumphant  disenthrallmeut  from  the  yoke 
of  bondage. 

We  need  not  dwell  upon  ancient  history  to  prove  that  national  pros- 
perity depends  upon  intellectual  and  moral  culture.  Why  is  modern 
Europe  now  the  centre  of  civil  power?  The  soil  is  not  more  productive, 
the  climate  is  not  more  delightful  than  those  of  regions  in  Asia  and 
Africa,  and  yet  everything  good  and  great  upon  the  eastern  continent,  in 
modern  times,  has  had  its  origin  there.  One  answer  only  can  solve  the 
mystery.  They  are  enlightened.  Take  a  single  example.  Place  your- 
self in  the  army  of  Julius  Caesar,  cross  with  him  the  British  Channel, 
stand  on  Albion's  shore,  and  view  the  chalky  cliffs  of  that  romantic  isle. 
Who  are  there  ?  An  ignorant  and  degraded  race,  savages  and  idolaters, 
blessed  indeed  with  fair  complexions  and  muscular  forms,  but  dark  and 
debased  in  intellect  and  morals.  Then  Italy  thought  the  conquest  of 
such  an  isle  an  insignificant  occurrence.  Small  was  it  in  territory,  and 
placed  on  the  verge  of  creation.  Go  there  now.  Britannia  would  smile 
at  the  thought  of  Italy  sending  an  invading  force.  Though  her  territory 
is  but  little  larger  than  that  of  our  own  state,  her  sails  whiten  every  sea 
and  crowd  every  port;  and  millions  in  foreign  lands  bow  at  her  name 
and  call  her  mistress.  Her  possessions  are  extensive  in  every  quarter  of 
the  globe,  and,  small  as  she  is,  she  wields  an  almost  omnipotent  influence. 
What  has  produced  this  mighty  change?  Education  is  there.  "The 
schoolmaster  is  abroad."  Her  venerable  universities  have  illuminated 
her  sons,  aud  widely  diffused  the  spirit  of  enterprise.  They  have  dis- 
covered, and  practically  applied  the  maxim,  "that  knowledge  is  power." 
The  arts  flourish  in  unprecedented  vigor.  The  hoarse  voice  of  her  steam- 
engines  and  the  ceaseless  hum  of  her  machinery  arc  heard  in  every  part 
of  the  island,  and  every  effort  is  made  by  her  philosophers  and  laborers 
to  bring  the  useful -"arts  to  perfection.  Consequently  wealth  flows  into 
the  bosom  of  the  nation,  and  every  land  becomes  tributary  to  England's 
felicity. 

Contrast  the  former  with  the  present  condition  of  Russia.  Two  cen- 
turies ago  she  was  a  vast  uncultivated  territory,  her  population  were 
principally  peasant  slaves  attached  to  the  soil,  the  absolute  property  of 
their  masters,  and  so  ignorant  that  they  dreaded  to  receive  offered  liberty 
lest  they  should  be  wholly  ruined.  She  had  no  ships  and  consequently 
no  commerce,  no  science  and  consequently  no  arts  of  a  refined  nature. 
But  Peter  the  Great,  by  his  mighty  efforts,  changed  her  entire  system. 
He  introduced  the  arts  from  abroad,  commenced  commerce,  founded  col- 


434  APPENDIX. 

le^es,  and  encouraged  learning  in  every  manner,  and  Russia  awoke  as 
from  a  dream.  Now  she  has  become  the  rival  of  England.  Her  com- 
merce is  increasing,  her  resources  are  daily  being  developed,  and  her 
wealth  is  accumulating.  Already  the  haughty  Ottoman  shrinks  from  her 
glance  as  she  wistfully  looks  towards  the  Black  Sea,  and,  tremblingly 
alarmed,  he  calls  upon  England  and  France  as  his  only  hope  against  en- 
croachments upon  his  territory.  Let  us  take  but  one  example  more. 
What  has  so  wonderfully  changed  America  in  the  last  two  hundred 
years  ?  Why  now  smiles  in  fruitfulness  this  western  valley,  so  recently 
a  gloomy  wilderness  ?  Enlightened  man  has  been  there.  Our  less  en- 
lightened brethren  in  South  America  have  waded  through  seas  of  blood 
to  attain  liberty,  winch  is  as  often  wrested  from  them  by  the  chieftain's 
grasp.  And  even  at  this  moment  they  are  suffering  from  opposing  and 
contending  factions.  They  lack  intelligence  and  virtue.  But  our  Union 
has  arisen  as  the  sun  in  its  strength,  her  internal  order  scarcely  disturbed, 
her  external  rights  esteemed  sacred.  Her  commerce  is  wide  as  the  earth, 
and  she  presents  the  sublime  spectacle  of  a  free  nation,  unembarrassed  by 
debt,  uncontrolled  by  religious  monopolies,  at  peace  with  all  the  world, 
rising  in  intellectual  and  moral  grandeur,  and  throwing  open  her  terri- 
tory to  receive  the  distressed  immigrant  as  he  flies  from  despotic  power. 
Many  of  her  sons  have  become  eminent  in  science,  and  even  for  excellence 
in  the  fine  arts  ;  some  have  worn  the  laurels  in  foreign  lands.  Do  we  in- 
quire the  cause  ?  Go  to  the  rock  of  Plymouth  and  look  upon  those  ven- 
erable men.  Their  first  care  was  to  plant  churches  and  schools,  to 
promote  intelligence  and  virtue.  I  trust  I  shall  be  indulged  in  quoting 
one  of  their  acts  as  early  as  1G47  upon  this  interesting  subject.  It  is  as 
follows :  "  To  the  end  that  learning  may  not  be  buried  in  the  graves  of 
our  forefathers,  in  church  and  commonwealth,  the  Lord  assisting  our  en- 
deavors: It  is  therefore  ordered  by  this  court  and  authority  thereof,  that 
every  township  within  this  jurisdiction,  after  the  Lord  has  increased 
them  to  the  number  of  fifty  householders,  shall  then  forthwith  appoint 
one  within  their  own  town  to  teach  all  such  children  as  shall  resort  to 
him,  to  write  and  read,  whose  wages  shall  be  paid  either  by  the  parents 
or  masters  of  such  children,  or  by  the  inhabitants  in  general,  by  way  of 
supply,  as  the  major  part  of  those  that  order  the  prudentials  of  the  town 
shall  appoint;  provided  that  those  who  send  children  be  not  oppressed 
by  paying  much  more  than  they  can  have  them  taught  for  in  other 
towns."'  Sec.  2.  "And  it  is  further  ordered  that  when  any  town  shall 
increase  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  families  or  householders,  they 
shall  set  up  a  grammar  school,  the  master  thereof  being  able  to  instruct 
the  youth  so  far  as  they  may  be  fitted  for  the  university."  Here  we 
see  the   beginning  of  that   system  which  has   been  followed  by  so 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.     485 

happy  consequences.  America  is  happy  because  she  is  enlightened  and 
virtuous. 

7lh.  Colleges  and  universities  are  essential  to  the  improvement  and  diffu- 
sion of  education.  Many  who  agree  with  us  in  extolling  tlie  advantages 
of  common  schools  are  somewhat  doubtful  as  to  the  necessity  for  col- 
leges. They  are  viewed  as  aristocratic  institutions,  imparting  only  the 
unnecessary  refinements.  These  opinions,  however,  we  conceive  arise 
wholly  from  mistaken  views.  In  order  that  we  may  perceive  the  true 
tendency  of  colleges,  it  may  be  remarked  that  society  is  interested  in 
having  individuals  talented,  learned,  energetic,  and  useful;  and  what- 
ever contributes  to  the  formation  of  such  characters  contributes  to  the 
happiness  of  society.  That  a  person  may  be  rendered  in  the  highest  de- 
gree useful,  four  things  are  especially  necessary,  the  mind  must  be  well 
stored  with  general  knowledge,  there  must  be  a  capacity  for  close  and 
thorough  investigation,  ability  to  communicate  information  in  an  inter- 
esting and  successful  manner,  and  a  disposition  to  use  the  utmost  exer- 
tions for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  mankind.  Our  only  question 
then  is,  have  colleges  the  tendency  to  form  such  characters  ? 

They  furnish  the  outlines  of  general  knowledge.  The  relations  of  the 
elements  of  matter  are  taught  in  chemistry,  their  combiuations  in  all 
their  varied  forms,  and  the  laws  which  govern  them  in  forming  those 
combinations.  Mineralogy  teaches  the  character  and  qualities  of  the 
various  substances  composing  the  earth's  structure,  and  the  uses  to  which 
they  may  be  applied.  Geology  unfolds  the  structure  and  arrangement 
of  the  earth's  surface,  and  the  position  of  the  various  strata  in  reference 
to  eacli  other,  with  the  various  fossils  found  among  their  masses.  Natural 
philosophy  explains  the  laws  of  motion,  and  the  mechanical  action  of 
bodies,  one  upon  another;  it  describes  the  fundamental  principles  of  me- 
chanics and  the  structure  of  machinery,  and  teaches  how  to  estimate  the 
effect  of  different  powers  variously  combined.  All  the  motions  of  nature 
are  observed,  from  the  movement  of  the  birds  in  the  air,  to  the  ship  upon 
the  mighty  deep.  The  propagation  of  sound  and  the  flash  of  lightning 
— the  colors  that  sparkle  in  the  dew-drop  as  it  glistens  on  the  trembling 
leaf,  or  display  their  lustre  in  the  bow  of  peace  that  triumphantly  spans 
the  heavens — all  are  the  subjects  of  philosophy.  Astronomy  leads  us 
still  further.  She  takes  the  student,  already  acquainted  with  our  own 
world,  on  a  tour  of  discovery  through  the  universe.  Visiting  each  planet, 
he  becomes  acquainted  with  the  laws  that  govern  those  mighty  orbs  as 
they  move  perpetually  around  the  great  centre  of  the  system.  Then  he 
careers  with  the  comet,  through  unmeasured  space,  nor  stops  until,  far 
beyond  the-  visible  creation,  ten  thousand  times  as  many  worlds  are 
brought  to  view. 


48G  APPENDIX. 

But  the  student  is  taught  not  only  the  nature  of  the  world  in  which 
he  is  placed,  and  its  associated  orbs,  he  is  also  taught  the  history  of  man, 
the  various  principles  that  have  elevated  and  overthrown  nations,  the 
different  events  that  have  transpired,  and  the  period  of  their  occurrence. 
The  actions  of  the  good  and  great  are  held  up  as  examples,  and  the  con- 
duct of  the  bad  as  warnings.  He  is  taught  to  know  himself.  The  phe- 
nomena of  mind  are  unfolded,  with  the  laws  of  our  being,  and  he  is 
taught  to  think  with  accuracy  and  precision.  And  history,  the  gray- 
headed  chronicler  of  years,  towering  with  Alpine  grandeur,  shows  those 
laws  exemplified  in  their  consequences,  and  is  thus  an  ever-bidding  mon- 
itor to  lead  to  truth.  And  last  of  all  he  is  led  through  every  department 
of  nature  to  view  the  grand  designs  of  the  Supreme  Creator.  With  such 
knowledge  the  person  is  no  longer  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  Wisdom, 
power,  benevolence,  and  justice  are  everywhere  displayed.  All  nature 
hath  a  tongue  to  tell  of  wisdom,  there  is  "  music  in  the  spheres."  And 
as  he  walks  abroad  in  the  fields,  he  views  "  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything." 

Colleges  are  places  of  severe  mental  discipline.  The  student  is  secluded 
from  the  business  and  perplexities  of  life,  and  consequently  the  mind  is 
not  distracted  by  those  cares  which  ordinarily  disturb  the  train  of  medi- 
tation. His  associates  are  all  engaged  in  study — he  has  examples  of 
application  in  his  preceptors — honor  is  enjoyed  only  by  the  successful 
student — in  his  studies  he  becomes  acquainted  with  the  characters  and 
actions  of  the  wise,  patriotic,  and  virtuous ;  he  admires  and  imitates — 
and  all  incline  him  to  improve  every  fleeting  moment.  The  studies  at 
which  he  is  engaged  require  strong  and  continued  mental  effort,  and 
their  tendency  is  to  produce  habits  of  close  and  profound  thought. 
Among  these  the  mathematical  course  stands  pre-eminent.  So  fully 
were  even  some  of  the  ancient  philosophers  apprised  of  this,  that  Plato 
inscribed  over  the  door  of  his  academy,  "  Oi8us  a  yta^TpiKos  eiV/;X#o  " 
— "Let  no  one  who  is  ignorant  of  geometry  enter."  In  our  own  country 
the  distinguished  Hamilton  was  so  sensible  of  the  effects  of  geometry 
upon  the  mind  that,  in  preparing  his  celebrated  state  papers,  he  read 
Euclid  regularly  once  a  month.  Algebra  also,  especially  in  its  higher 
branches,  is  well  calculated  to  discipline  the  mind.  These  are  not  only 
essential  to  prepare  the  student  for  active  life,  but  by  giving  him  habits 
of  thought  and  examination  they  prepare  him  for  extensive  usefulness. 
Hi>  intellect  is  expanded  and  his  powers  developed.  He  is  neither  de- 
ceived by  specious  pretences,  nor  does  he  shrink  from  arduous  inves- 
tigation, and  when  in  after-life  he  is  consulted,  his  judgment  will  be 
respected. 

Colleges  impart  qualifications  for  communicating  information  in  an  in- 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.      487 

teresting  and  successful  manner.  And  this  is  one  of  the  grand  objects  of 
a  thorough  education.  Without  it  knowledge  is  comparatively  useless. 
The  individual,  it  is  true,  enjoys  a  pleasure  which  sensual  gratifications 
can  never  afford.  Rittenhouse  swooned  at  beholding  the  transit  of  Ve- 
nus. Newton  was  so  overwhelmed  with  rapture,  when  near  the  com- 
pletion of  his  immense  calculations  that  demonstrated  the  planetary 
laws,  that  he  was  unable  to  proceed.  And  Archimedes,  going  into  a 
public  bath,  while  intent  on  solving  the  problem  of  Hiero's  crown,  sud- 
denly discovering  the  method,  sprang  from  the  baths  and  rushed  naked 
into  the  streets,  crying,  "  I  have  found  it,  I  have  found  it."  True,  it 
elevates  the  intellect  and  makes  the  individual  sit  "  upon  the  Alps,  the 
Apennines,  and  weave  his  garland  of  the  lightning's  wing."  But  still 
the  great  object  is  to  communicate  truth  to  others.  Powerful  orations 
may  sway  the  opinions  of  listening  thousands,  may  turn  the  majority  of 
a  community  upon  subjects  of  immense  importance.  Mary,  queen  of 
England,  is  said  to  have  dreaded  John  Knox  more  than  all  her  other 
subjects,  because  she  feared  the  effects  of  his  pojDular  oratory.  But  a 
written  work  of  strong  sentiment  and  happy  expression  can  do  still 
more.  It  speaks  not  to  one  community,  nor  country,  nor  age.  Its  do- 
miuion  is  the  world,  its  duration  that  of  the  earth.  For  the  press  has 
almost  secured  to  valuable  productions  ubiquity  and  eternity.  Elemen- 
tary knowledge  and  habits  of  thought  can  never  exert  their  full  influence 
without  the  power  of  language,  and  this  is  particularly  taught  in  a  college 
course.  Attention  is  directed  to  the  structure  and  analysis  of  language, 
mode  of  expression,  and  formation  of  style.  For  this  purpose  rhetoric 
and  logic  are  taught.  Exercises  in  writing  and  oratory  are  periodically 
required.  And  a  critical  knowledge  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages 
is  imparted. 

We  are  aware  that  it  has  become  fashionable  to  declaim  against  the 
study  of  those  languages,  and  to  exalt  at  their  expense  the  natural 
sciences.  We  are  not  willing  to  yield  to  others  in  an  attachment  to  the 
study  of  nature,  but  we  must  enter  our  protest  against  the  neglect  of 
those  ancient  languages.  And  as  this  is  a  subject  upon  which  consider- 
able discussion  has  taken  place,  it  may  claim  our  passing  notice. 

That  the  study  of  those  languages  is  necessary  for  the  finished  scholar, 
few  are  found  to  deny;  and  we  are  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  any, aspir- 
ing to  elevated  situations,  can  voluntarily  deprive  themselves  of  such 
advantages.  When  a  student  is  unable,  from  uncontrollable  circum- 
stances, to  give  himself  a  full  education,  there  may  be  a  propriety  in  his 
paying  but  little,  if  any,  attention  to  them,  but  circumstances  should  be 
imperious  to  warrant  such  a  course.  The  study  of  the  languages  has 
been  by  the  imprudence  of  friends  exposed  to  unnecessary  opposition.. 


48S  APPENDIX. 

There  is  a  great  tendency  to  run  into  extremes  upon  any  subject,  and  as 
a  mote  near  the  eye  covers  a  large  field  of  view,  so  any  subject  upon 
which  the  mind  is  intently  fixed  is  in  danger  of  being  unnecessarily 
magnified. 

Some  Lave  attributed  to  the  ancients  all  excellence,  and  to  the  mod- 
erns merely  imitation.  If  specimens  of  oratory  are  required,  they  refer 
immediately  to  the  ancients.  Beauties  of  composition,  strength  of  sen- 
timent, to  them  only  shine  upon  the  classic  pages.  Nor  is  the  reason 
difficult  to  be  discovered.  They  have  studied  the  ancients  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  moderns.  Their  minds  were  wholly  engrossed  in  youth  with 
classic  lore,  and  the  whole  current  of  thought  lias  flowed  in  that  direc- 
tion. The  former  system  of  education  was  such  that  nearly  the  whole 
time  was  occupied  in  studying  these  languages,  and  it  is  not  astonishing 
that  the  judgment  should  be  biassed  by  such  a  course.  Others,  perceiving 
the  folly  of  such  assertions,  have  run  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  con- 
demned the  languages  as  wholly  useless.  The  truth  to  our  minds  appears 
thus.  We  find  many  beautiful  examples  of  composition  and  many  ad- 
dresses of  finished  oratory  among  the  ancients,  but  more  beauties  and 
stronger  oratory  are  found  among  the  moderns.  They  have  a  wider  field 
of  illustration,  and  a  greater  number  of  powerful  motives.  Neither  ex- 
tensive science  nor  the  all-absorbing  truths  of  Christianity  were  under- 
stood by  the  ancients.  In  originality,  love  of  nature,  and  abstraction, 
they  manifest  considerable  excellence.  Their  times  favored  this.  They 
had  few  works  but  those  of  nature  from  which  they  could  copy,  and,  not 
expecting  great  practical  results,  sublime  sentiments  and  abstractions 
were  their  chief  delight.  Yet  our  English  poets  love  nature  as  ardently; 
and  the  abstractions  of  a  Newton  and  Laplace  are  superior  to  any  found 
among  the  ancients.  Besides,  the  greater  part  of  what  is  excellent  in  the 
writings  of  the  ancients  we  find  embodied  in  those  of  the  moderns.  If 
we  are  asked  why  then  we  advocate  the  study  of  the  ancient  languages, 
we  answer,  1st.  Because  there  are  many  turns  of  expression  which  lay 
open  the  springs  of  thought,  which  never  can  be  translated.  And  this 
was  probably  the  origin  of  the  famous  expression  of  Charles  V.  that  "  he 
who  learned  a  new  language  acquired  a  new  soul."  These  turns  of  ex- 
pression frequently  suggest  new  ideas  to  the  mind,  and  cause  it  to  examine 
the  subject  more  closely  and  thoroughly.  2d.  Because  professional  men 
must  understand  the  technicalities  of  their  science,  but  these  being  nearly 
all  derived  from  those  languages,  a  previous  knowledge  of  them  is  re- 
quired. 3d.  Because  there  are  writings  of  peculiar  interest  to  the  accom- 
plished physician,  attorney,  divine,  and  general  scholar  which  have  either 
never  been  translated,  or  yet  possess  peculiar  interest  in  the  original.  The 
physician  wishes  to  read  after  Galen  and  Hippocrates  just  as  they  wrote, 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.     489 

find  the  attorney  to  have  the  gradual  formation  and  expansion  of  that 
system  of  jurisprudence  which  is  the  glory  and  safeguard  of  our  country. 
The  divine  must  also  long  to  read  the  word  of  life  just  as  it  dropped  in 
all  its  richness,  freshness,  and  power  from  the  lips  of  him  who  spake  as 
never  man  spake.  He  thus  seems  privileged  to  stand  in  ancient  com- 
pany, and  to  view  those  sublime  scenes  transpiring  around  him.  But, 
4th.  Our  strongest  reason  is  that  such  knowledge  is  necessary  in  order 
to  obtain  the  perfect  mastery  of  our  own  language.  The  great  object  of 
the  scholar  is  to  persuade  and  convince.  For  this  all  the  powers  of  lan- 
guage should  be  exhausted.  Its  strength,  its  beauty,  richness,  copious- 
ness, should  all  be  the  subjects  of  continued  study  and  investigation. 
Words  are  the  instruments  of  the  writer  and  the  orator,  and  if  expected 
to  do  execution,  they  must  be  well  chosen,  expressive,  and  polished.  If 
we  examine  the  prose  and  poetic  writings  of  the  last  century,  we  find 
most  that  excel  are  the  productions  of  classic  pens.  True,  some  wrote 
wyell  by  forming  their  style  after  classic  authors,  and  by  severe  study  imi- 
tating their  method,  but  already  their  works  are  nearly  forgotten,  and 
soon,  with  but  few  exceptions,  they  will  have  passed  from  the  memory 
of  men. 

Who  that  has  any  aspiration  to  leave  behind  him  a  name  will  wisli  it 
to  be  written  in  other  than  imperishable  characters.  Yet,  comparatively 
few  can  be  writers,  but  all  may  be  orators.  It  has  not  appeared  strange  to 
us  that  an  opposition  to  the  study  of  the  languages  should  have  arisen 
in  France  and  Germany.  There  a  popular  orator  is  regarded  with  jeal- 
ousy. The  tyrant  wishes  the  populace  to  sleep.  He  dreads  the  first 
symptoms  of  waking,  and  consequently  wishes  not  to  see  the  elements 
of  agitation  accumulated,  lest  they  should  explode  with  volcanic  violence, 
and  upheave  the  foundations  of  their  governments.  But  why  should 
opposition  be  indulged  in  this  country?  Here  every  man  is  by  birth- 
right an  orator;  he  is  invested  witli  the  attributes  of  sovereignty,  and 
the  affairs  of  state  are  subjects  of  daily  discussion  among  the  humblest 
citizens  in  the  community.  Our  only  security  is  in  the  intelligence  and 
virtue  of  our  citizens,  and  every  man  who  aspires  to  eminence  should 
seek  such  an  acquaintance  with  language  as  shall  enable  him  to  pour 
forth  truth  in  all  its  strength  and  beauty ;  to  clothe  it  in  its  own  heavenly 
habiliments  of  loveliness,  and  to  acquire  the  power  of  holding  thousands 
entranced  with  the  resistless  magic  both  "  of  thoughts  that  breath  and 
words  that  burn." 

But  it  may  be  objected  that  some  of  our  best  orators  never  studied 
these  languages.  We  admit  that  to  all  general  rules  there  may  be  ex- 
ceptions, but  in  this  case  they  will  not  at  all  invalidate  the  general  prin- 
ciple.    To  obtain  their  eminence,  these  men  have  employed  their  whole 


490  APPENDIX. 

time ;  they  have  labored  assiduously,  and  formed  their  style  according 
to  the  model  of  those  imbued  with  classic  lore.  By  industry  and  per- 
severance they  have  excelled,  and  they  merit  praise ;  but  there  is  one 
"rand  distinction  between  the  accomplished  linguist  and  such  speakers 
and  writers.  In  the  linguist,  oratory  is  but  a  small  part  of  his  powers,  it 
appears  rather  as  an  incidental  circumstance.  His  language  is  the  nat- 
ural expression  of  his  thoughts.  With  the  other,  oratory  is  everything; 
for  this  he  has  studied  night  and  day.  His  writings  will  be  few  and 
ephemeral,  for  his  whole  efforts  have  been  employed  to  obtain  the  use  of 
language,  as  it  would  have  flowed  almost  spontaneously,  if  he  had  thor- 
oughly studied  that  department.  But  is  the  example  of  those  who  thus 
arrive  at  eminence  to  be  a  model  for  others  ?  How  frequently  do  we  see 
men  raised  in  obscurity,  destitute  of  means,  rising  from  one  degree  of 
wealth  to  another,  until  they  proudly  place  themselves  upon  a  standing 
of  equality  with  the  oldest  families  in  the  land.  Will  they  therefore 
wish  their  children  to  commence  destitute  of  means  ?  Do  you  find  them 
giving  away  their  fortunes  to  others,  and  turning  their  sons  penniless 
upon  the  world,  because  in  this  way  they  commenced  ?  Do  they  seek 
the  humblest  associations  for  their  daughters,  because  their  mothers 
made  such  selections  ?  They  wish,  and  wish  properly,  to  place  their 
children  on  vantage-ground,  and  this  they  should  do,  in  education  as 
well  as  in  wealth.  And  if  we  refer  to  those  orators,  we  find  them  the 
most  ardent  advocates  for  the  thorough  education  of  youth,  because  they 
well  remember  the  difficulties  through  which  they  were  compelled  to 
struggle.  But  we  are  told  that  but  few  become  orators.  We  admit  that 
but  few,  comparatively,  attain  to  excellence  in  any  department.  Few  of 
the  sons  of  the  wealthy  continue  to  amass  wealth.  The  man  who  fares 
sumptuously  has  a  son  in  a  few  years  reduced  to  beggary;  while  the 
poor  rises  to  opulence  and  splendor.  Energy,  ceaseless  energy,  is  neces- 
sary. Indolence,  whether  found  on  a  farm,  in  a  shop,  an  office,  or  college, 
never  can  succeed.  But  of  those  who  succeed  in  completing  a  college 
course,  but  few  are  indolent.  Such,  generally,  tire  by  the  way;  to  them 
discipline  and  close  application  are  irksome,  and  they  gladly  leave  their 
studies  to  engage  in  business,  where  they  will  have  greater  opportunities 
for  irregularity.  There  is  an  additional  reason  why  the  languages  should 
be  taught.  By  means  of  commerce  the  different  jiarts  of  the  world  are 
in  rapid  approximation.  Men  of  different  languages  must  commingle, 
and  hence  the  importance  of  understanding,  especially,  the  languages  of 
modern  Europe.  But  as  many  of  them  are  derived  from  the  Latin  and 
Greek,  the  easiest  and  best  method  to  acquire  them  is  first  to  study  their 
originals. 

Colleges  cherish  and  cultivate  dispositions  for  enlarged  efforts  to  amelio- 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.     491 

rate  the  condition  of  man.  The  student  is  taught  the  relations  he  sustains 
to  his  fel low-men  of  his  own  country,  and  of  the  whole  world,  and  the 
obligations  arising  from  those  relations.  Political  economy  exhibits  the 
propriety  and  policy  of  active  exertion,  while  moral  science  occupies  still 
higher  ground,  and  shows  that  man  to  be  criminal  who  does  not  employ 
himself  in  labors  of  benevolence.  The  conduct  of  the  brave,  the  patri- 
otic, and  the  philanthropic  are  held  up  as  examples,  and  every  motive  is 
brought  into  requisition  to  stimulate  to  honorable  enterprise.  With  such 
convictions  of  duty,  the  thorough  scholar,  bursting  the  barriers  of  prej- 
udice, views  himself  no  longer  living  to  himself  alone;  lays  broad  plans 
for  future  usefulness,  and,  in  whatever  profession  he  may  labor,  the  prin- 
ciples which  guide  him  are  those  that  dignify  and  ennoble  humanity. 

8th.  Colleges  are  not  only  thus  useful  in  furnishing  such  individuals 
to  act  their  part  in  community,  hut  they  also  elevate  the  standard  of  pro- 
fessional attainments.  How  many  men  rush  unqualified  into  all  our 
responsible  professions.  Scarcely  has  a  young  man  completed  the  ac- 
quisition of  the  simplest  elements  of  an  ordinary  education,  when  he  as- 
sumes a  title,  and  the  lives  or  property  of  his  fellow-men  are  trusted  to 
his  care.  And  when  once  entered  upon  the  profession,  so  far  from  devel- 
oping his  powers,  he  looks  around,  and  finds  associates  as  ignorant  as 
himself.  They  "measure  themselves  by  themselves,"  and  aspire  for  no 
higher  excellence.  While  they  are  yet  grovelling  in  the  basement,  they 
fancy  they  have  attained  to  the  summit  of  the  temple,  because  from  the 
obscurity  of  their  vision  they  can  perceive  nothing  above  them.  There 
is  scarcely  a  more  pernicious  influence  operating  against  our  learned  pro- 
fessions. The  young  man  fancies  that  he  can  gather  laurels  to  decorate 
his  brow,  aud  that  unless  he  hastes  they  will  all  be  worn  by  others.  He 
counts  the  days  as  years  until  he  engages  in  active  life.  And  even  some- 
times, by  a  strange  mixture  of  self-esteem  and  benevolence,  he  imagines 
the  world  will  plunge  into  ruin  unless  he  springs  to  the  rescue.  The 
ancient  athletse  could  spent  years  in  preparation,  every  muscle  was  devel- 
oped, every  expedient  tried,  a  long  course  of  training  endured,  and  when 
admitted  to  the  lists,  instead  of  entering  hastily,  they  deliberately  com- 
menced the  contest.  All  this  was  for  a  fading  laurel.  But  when  prop- 
erty and  life,  when  the  dearest  interests  of  men  are  at  stake,  our  youths 
rush  unprepared  upon  the  course,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  fall  ex- 
hausted ere  they  reach  the  goal.  If  young  men  but  know  the  advantages 
of  a  full  preparation,  they  would  count  themselves  happy,  if  at  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  they  were  prepared  to  commence  a  public  career. 

9th.  Colleges  are  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  common  schools.  They 
furnish  writers  to  explain  aud  illustrate  the  various  branches  of  an  ordi- 
nary education.     And  they  furnish  competent  teachers,  to  take  charge 


492  APPENDIX. 

of  schools  and  seminaries.  Too  frequently,  for  the  welfare  of  community, 
is  the  education  of  immortal  minds  committed  to  those  who  have  neither 
capacity  nor  disposition  to  communicate  useful  knowledge;  who, them- 
selves wrongly  taught,  perpetuate  errors  more  difficult  to  be  removed 
than  the  inscription  from  the  plate  of  steel;  who,  without  any  sublime 
sentiments  or  noble  aspirations,  undertake  to  direct  the  development  of 
that  intellect  designed  to  scale  the  topmost  battlements  of  nature.  Look 
where  we  may,  no  truth  is  more  clearly  taught  than  that  common  schools 
never  flourished  without  colleges.  The  history  of  France,  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Prussia  might  all  be  cited  in  proof.  And,  in  our  own  country, 
where  is  common  education  most  generally  diffused?  Just  where  the 
first  colleges  were  established,  as  radiating  points  of  literary  light.  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Connecticut,  the  seats  of  Harvard  and  Yale,  have  in  this 
respect  furnished  an  example  worthy  of  imitation.  On  this  subject  many 
have  improper  views,  regarding  colleges,  if  not  injurious,  at  least  as  un- 
necessary to  common  schools.  A  distinguished  secretary  of  a  neighboring 
commonwealth,  in  one  of  his  illustrations,  remarks  that  the  proper  ob- 
jects of  attention  are  common  schools;  for  as  heated  air  always  rises,  so 
common  schools  prepare  the  wTay  for  colleges.  It  is  true  that  this  con- 
nection is  reciprocal,  and  that  colleges  will  generally  not  continue  to 
flourish  where  common  education  is  neglected.  But  although  heated  air 
will  invariably  rise,  yet  blot  out  the  sun  from  existence,  or  direct  its  rays 
from  the  earth,  and  thick-ribbed  ice  would  hold  universal  dominion. 
Blot  out  colleges,  and  a  Cimmerian  darkness  would  overspread  the  land, 
and  the  huge  icebergs  of  the  frigid  zone  would  but  faintly  represent  the 
more  intense  induration  of  all  the  feelings  and  powers  of  mind. 

10th.  Colleges,  or  high  institutions  of  learning,  have  always  leen  the])re- 
cursors  of  great  improvements,  whether  in  government  or  in  the  arts  of 
civilized  life.  In  every  land  remarkable  for  intellect  we  find  them  in 
existence.  Even  in  the  captivity  at  Babylon,  the  Jews  sustained  high 
institutions  for  that  age  of  the  world.  Shortly  after  Constantino,  a  uni- 
versity was  established  at  Constantinople,  which  served  as  the  depository 
of  Eastern  literature ;  but  colleges,  resembling  those  at  present  in  exist- 
ence, were  not  established  until  a  much  later  period.  In  the  ninth  cen- 
tury Europe  produced  two  distinguished  individuals,  Charlemagne  in 
France,  and  Alfred  in  England.  Each  used  every  means  to  encourage 
education,  and  seminaries  were  founded,  which  were  the  swelling  buds 
that  afterwards  unfolded  into  the  universities  of  Paris  and  Oxford.  And 
is  it  not  remarkable  that  the  land  of  Charlemagne  and  of  Alfred,  after  a 
lapse  of  one  thousand  years,  still  retain  a  proud  pre-eminence  over  the 
rest  of  Europe.  At  what  period  college  honors  were  devised  and  degrees 
conferred  it  is  now  difficult  to  determine ;  but  their  origination  is  by 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.     493 

many  ascribed  to  Irnerius,  a  distinguished  jurist  of  the  twelfth  century, 
and  a  professor  at  Bologna.  Mention  of  them  was  made  by  Kobert  de 
Courcon  in  1215;  and  the  term  Bachelor  of  Arts  occurs  in  the  Bull  of 
Pope  Gregory  IX.,  in  1231.  At  this  period  a  new  impetus  was  given  to 
collegiate  instruction,  and  in  the  same  century,  in  addition  to  the  univer- 
sities of  Paris  and  Oxford,  wc  rind  those  of  Toulouse,  Bologna,  Naples, 
Padua,  Salamanca,  and  Cambridge ;  and  in  the  next  two  centuries  be- 
tween twenty  and  thirty  additional  ones  of  eminence  were  established. 
Shall  we  ask,  was  their  establishment  followed  by  any  remarkable  events? 
History  points  to  those  centuries  as  the  time  of  the  awaking  of  mind, 
and  the  formation  of  those  very  systems  now  completely  developed. 
That  age  was  a  dark  one  in  political  relations.  Tyranny  was  absolute 
and  unrelenting.  The  common  people  were  in  a  state  of  abject  slavery, 
attached  to  the  soil,  and  transposable  as  goods  and  chattels  by  the 
power  of  the  nobility.  The  code  of  jurisprudence  was  lamentably  de- 
fective, but  in  it  the  first  great  change  was  produced.  The  Roman  law 
was  revived  and  introduced  into  the  universities.  The  youth  crowded 
to  the  lectures,  and  by  their  means  more  correct  notions  were  generally 
diffused.  Trials  by  single  combat,  by  signs  and  charms,  by  the  "Judg- 
ments of  God,"  as  they  were  termed,  were  gradually  abandoned ;  and 
order  and  regularity  were  established  in  the  courts  of  judicature.  As 
ideas  of  justice  prevailed,  the  condition  of  the  peasantry  was  ameliorated. 
Princes  enfranchised  their  serfs,  and  exhorted  their  nobility  to  do  the 
same.  Cities  and  villages  acquired  freedom,  and  a  spirit  of  enterprise 
and  industry  became  widely  diffused.  Notions  of  individual  rights  were 
soon  extended  to  national,  and  the  claims  of  the  monarch  were  regarded 
with  jealousy  by  his  subjects.  Even  Louis  X.,  as  early  as  1315,  declared 
publicly,  when  manumitting  his  serfs,  that  "all  men  by  birth  should  be 
free  and  equal."  Such  sentiments  exercised  a  powerful  influence,  and 
republics  sprang  up  throughout  Italy,  Spain,  and  other  parts  of  the  south 
ofEuixme.  But  principles  were  not  sufficiently  settled,  the  mass  of  the 
people  were  not  yet  enlightened,  and  morals  were  grossly  defective. 
These  infant  republics  were  soon  torn  with  factions,  and  gradually  im- 
merged  into  monarchies.  In  the  fourteenth  century  the  cantons  ot 
Switzerland  founded  their  government,  and  have  since  been  independent 
of  regal  power.  The  same  sentiments  spread  rapidly  in  England,  and 
early  in  the  thirteenth  the  memorable  Magna  Charta  was  signed,  as  an 
acknowledgment  of  popular  rights.  Since  that  period  liberty  has  been 
progressive,  and  has  but  developed  the  same  principles  in  greater  ma- 
turity and  beauty  in  the  formation  of  the  American  Constitution,  that 
noblest  work  of  man.  Yet  some  there  are,  even  in  this  favored  land,  so 
ignorant  of  history,  and  so  grovelling  in  all  their  conceptions,  that  they 


494  APPENDIX. 

publicly  declaim  against  colleges  as  fostering  aristocracy.  Such  men, 
had  they  lived  in  other  days,  would  have  been  the  first  to  strangle  liberty 
in  her  cradle,  and,  bowing  their  own  neck  to  the  foot  of  the  despot,  to 
swear  allegiance  to  his  throne. 

All  the  parts  of  truth  are  intimately  connected.     The  discovery  of  one 
leads  to  the  discovery  of  others.     As  universities  promoted  the  knowl- 
edge of  popular  rights,  so  those  rights  being  understood,  and  having 
been  even  partially  enjoyed,  produced  a  buoyancy  and  elasticity  of  mind 
which  reacted  upon  the  universities.     Each  supported  the  other,  and  as 
the  desire  for  information  increased,  the  course  was  extended.    Formerly 
the  branches  taught  were  the  Trivium,  embracing  rhetoric,  logic,  and 
grammar,  and  the  Quadrivium,  including  arithmetic,  geometry,  music, 
and  astronomy.     But  with  the  new  arrangements  new  studies  were  in- 
troduced, the  writings  of  the  ancients  were  eagerly  consulted,  and  nature 
became  a  subject  of  investigation.     Astronomy  began  to  throw  aside  its 
astrological  character,  and  natural  history  and   chemistry,  though  yet 
very  imperfect,  began  to  attract  attention.     Men  thought  more  freely, 
and  consequently  more  was  written.     At  this  juncture  commenced  the 
great  improvement  of  the  arts.     Something  was  needed  upon  which  to 
write,  parchment  was  too  costly,  and  bark  too  fragile.    It  is  said  that  the 
manufacture  of  paper  from  linen  was  first  devised  in  the  ninth  century, 
but  it  was  not  generally  known  until  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth 
century.    A  suitable  substance  being  prepared,  writings  were  multiplied, 
but  still,  owing  to  the  labor  of  transcription,  books  were  exceedingly 
costly.     A  copy  of  the  New  Testament  was  sold  in  1429  for  £40,  being  at 
that  time  the  annual  salary  of  a  professor  in  Oxford.     It  required  au  im- 
mense fortune  to  purchase  a  library.     To  remedy  this  inconvenience,  the 
art  of  printing  was  invented,  and  probably  about  1431  the  press  began 
to  work.     This  constituted  a  new  era  in  literature.     Information  spread 
rapidly,  a  knowledge  of  history  and  geography  awakened  a  desire  to 
visit  and  trade  with  other  countries.     Commerce  was  extended,  naviga- 
tion practised,  and  America  discovered.     Wealth  flowed  into  Europe, 
the  arts  were  encouraged,  and  the  refinements  of  life  multiplied.     Until 
near  this   period  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  even  of  the  wealthy,  were 
thatched  and  without  chimneys,  and  glass  windows  were  almost  un- 
known.    But  from  this  period,  invention  after  invention,  and  discovery 
after  discovery,  added  happiness  to  man.     We  do  not  wish  to  be  under- 
stood as  affirming  that  all  these  improvements  were  devised  in  colleges. 
But  it  is  certainly  remarkable  that  the  establishment  of  colleges  preceded 
all  splendid  improvements  in  those  early  ages.     They  were  as  radiating 
points,  as  suns  in  the  universe  dispensing  light  and  heat.     In  them  was 
inspired  a  thirst  for  enterprise.     Their  alumni  went  forth,  and  acted  on 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.      495 

community.  New  facts  were  carefully  reported,  and  these  again  were 
disseminated,  so  that,  with  telegraphic  facility,  information  spread  from 
mind  to  mind,  and  from  nation  to  nation.  Although  many  discoveries 
were  made  by  men  not  attached  to  colleges,  they  were  not  made  inde- 
pendent of  the  light  and  interest  with  which  colleges  had  invested  those 
subjects.  The  discovery  of  the  laws  of  mechanics,  the  principles  now 
embodied  in  machinery  of  all  kinds,  was  the  result  of  jiatient  and  labo- 
rious investigation.  To  show  how  such  investigations  affect  community, 
let  us  select  but  a  single  instance,  the  refractive  power  of  glass.  The 
fact  that  light  is  bent  a  little  out  of  its  course  by  passing  through  glass 
appears  but  a  trivial  discovery.  Yet  in  the  hand  of  Galileo  it  gave  rise 
to  the  invention  of  the  telescope.  And  what  are  its  trophies?  It  has 
made  man  a  citizen  of  the  universe — spread  before  his  vision  neighbor- 
ing worlds — expanded  his  intellect  by  suggesting  data  for  new  calcula- 
tions and  matter  for  profound  reflection — revealed  additional  evidences 
of  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God,  and  enabled  man,  lost  in  astonishment, 
more  feelingly  to  exclaim,  "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
firmament  showeth  his  handiwork."  He  has  with  this  measure  spanned 
the  surface  of  the  sun,  and  passed  with  the  velocity  of  the  "  swift-winged 
arrows  of  light "  from  centre  to  circumference  of  celestial  systems  infinitely 
distant  and  infinitely  multiplied.  The  microscope,  constructed  upon  the 
same  principle,  reveals  a  new  world  around  and  beneath  us.  Each  par- 
ticle of  matter  seems  to  teem  with  life  and  happiness.  Organized 
beings  are  seen  to  sport  in  a  drop  of  water,  with  as  little  sense  of  confine- 
ment as  a  whale  in  the  ocean.  The  dust  of  a  plant,  which  we  carelessly 
brush  away,  is  but  a  crowded  city  of  living  beings,  imperceptible  to  the 
unassisted  vision.  Nature  thus  speaks  a  new  language,  and  is  resplen- 
dent with  indescribable  lustre.  The  same  principle,  rjractically  applied, 
has  produced  the  spyglass  for  the  mariner,  and  furnished  an  indispensa- 
ble part  of  the  theodolite.  And  who  that  has  attained  to  the  age  of 
forty  or  fifty  has  not  availed  himself  of  the  same  principle  to  remedy 
impaired  vision.  This  application  alone  has  been  of  incalculable  benefit 
to  man.  The  short-sighted  are  enabled  to  take  an  extended  view,  and 
the  dimmed  eye  of  age  beholds  once  more  the  beauties  of  creation  as  it 
beheld  them  in  youth.  Nearly  one  half  of  human  life  is  thus  made  avail- 
able, to  an  extent  formerly  unknown ;  age  is  preserved  as  a  counsellor  to 
youth,  and  the  declining  moments,  when  formerly  "the  grasshopper  was 
a  burden,"  are  cheered  with  new  sources  of  instruction  and  delight. 
Dr.  Rush  remarks  that  cases  of  fatuity  are  much  less  frequent  among  the 
aged  since  the  introduction  of  glasses,  and  the  well-known  history  of 
Dean  Swift  would  seem  to  confirm  us  in  this  impression.  Yet  all  these 
are  the  trophies  of  but  a  single  discovery  in  modern  science. 


496  APPENDIX. 

The  connection  of  colleges  with  religious  reformation  is  by  no  means 
to  be  overlooked.  The  fifteenth  century  beheld  the  European  universi- 
ties in  full  vigor,  and  with  their  strength  the  Reformation  gained  ground. 
Mind,  taught  to  investigate,  was  not  to  be  shackled  by  the  dictates  of 
assumed  power.  Nor  were  the  pretensions  of  any  individual  considered 
too  sacred  to  be  examined.  Go  to  the  University  of  Erfurt.  Behold  that 
youth  as  he  enters  the  library,  and  in  his  search  for  something  interest- 
ing takes  from  the  shelves  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
It  was  the  first  copy  he  had  ever  seen.  Curiosity  prompted  him  to  read, 
his  attention  was  arrested,  and  that  volume  transformed  that  youth  into 
Martin  Luther.  That  volume  may  have  been  the  donation  of  some  pious 
Christian,  and,  if  so,  who  can  estimate  the  consequences  of  such  a  benev- 
olent act.  Calvin  received  his  serious  impressions  while  pursuing  his 
studies,  and  Oxford's  classic  retreat  has  had  the  honor  of  producing  a 
Whitefield  and  a  Wesley,  whose  names  shall  ever  stand  connected  with 
what  is  pure  in  morals,  spiritual  in  religion,  and  benevolent  in  enterprise. 
In  our  own  land,  also,  revivals  of  religion  frequently  occur  in  colleges, 
and  many  who  enter,  designing  merely  to  study  their  own  pleasure,  are 
induced  to  commence  a  life  of  usefulness.  Yet  the  impression  is  firmly 
fixed  upon  many  minds  that  colleges  are  unfavorable  to  religious  influ- 
ence. Why,  may  we  ask,  is  this  impression  prevalent  ?  If  colleges  were 
destitute  of  religious  instruction,  if  young  men  were  left  unguarded  at 
the  most  critical  period  of  life,  there  would  be  some  cause  of  apprehen- 
sion. Such  institutions  would  in  all  probability  be  nurseries  for  vice  and 
infidelity.  But  this  is  not  the  case  with  colleges  in  general.  Students 
are  strictly  required  to  observe  the  duties  of  the  Sabbath.  A  portion  of 
Scripture  is  read  every  morning,  and  devotional  exercises  performed  iu 
the  chapel.  The  text-books  are  avowedly  religious  in  their  tendency, 
and  the  morality  of  the  Bible  is  rigidly  inculcated.  The  associations 
also  are  generally  favorable  ;  for  though  there  will  always  be  exceptions, 
yet  viciously  disposed  young  men  cannot  generally  be  found  engaged  in 
college  pursuits.  If  trustees  have  done  their  duty,  the  preceptors  will 
always  be  men  of  irreproachable  habits  and  unblemished  piety.  And  all 
the  force  of  attachment  will  incline  young  men  to  copy  their  example. 
And  who  docs  not  know — who  has  not  felt  the  power  of  example  ? 

Since,  then,  the  peculiar  regulations  of  a  well-arranged  college  are  fa- 
vorable to  piety,  if  any  further  objection  be  urged,  it  must  be  against  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge  under  any  circumstances.  The  maxim  that 
"ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion"  has  long  since  passed  away;  yet 
there  are  some  who  still  think  that  extensive  knowledge  is  unfavorable 
to  personal  religion.  If,  however,  we  seek  for  the  foundation  of  such  an 
impression,  we  find  it  wholly  baseless.    The  better  we  become  acquainted 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSONS  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.      497 

■with  individuals  of  high  moral  worth,  the  more  we  admire  and  love;  so 
the  more  we  know  of  the  works  of  God,  the  more  reason  we  have  to 
worship  and  adore.  As  wre  have  already  seen,  science  -wonderfully  en- 
larges our  views,  and  consequently  gives  us  clearer  ideas  of  the  glorious 
perfections  of  the  Deity.  Those  individuals  wdio  have  made  the  greatest 
discoveries  have  powerfully  felt  the  influence  of  this  principle.  Galen 
fell  upon  his  knees  to  adore,  when  he  discovered  the  admirable  perfec- 
tion of  the  human  frame.  Newton,  when  he  had  almost  measured  the 
immensity  of  nature,  turned  all  the  powers  of  his  disciplined  intellect  to 
understand  and  explain  the  word  of  God ;  and  Baron  Napier,  who  by  his 
discoveries  in  mathematics  had  in  some  degree  prepared  the  way  for 
Newton's  splendid  discoveries,  engaged  in  the  same  noble  employment. 
The  only  idea  we  can  have  of  infinite  holiness,  of  spotless  purity,  is  in- 
separably associated  with  infinite  wisdom.  Man,  in  the  creation,  was 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  in  distinction  from  animated  nature,  jiot  that 
he  was  purer,  for  all  was  pure,  but  he  was  wiser.  He  had  knowledge  for 
government,  power  to  control  himself.  And  if  it  be  a  command  that  a 
Christian  should  in  his  sphere  be  like  God,  he  must  seek  not  only  for 
spotless  purity,  but  also  for  extensive  knowledge.  The  harmlessness  of 
the  dove  must  ever  be  united  with  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent.  As  if  to 
impress  this  truth  on  the  mind  of  man,  God  has  ever  chosen  such  as  his 
most  honored  servants.  Moses  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the 
Egyptians,  and  who  was  so  highly  favored  as  he  ?  Selected  to  lead  Is- 
rael and  to  stand  before  God,  he  beheld  the  exceeding  brightness  of  his 
glory  as  it  beamed  from  the  burning  bush,  shone  in  the  fiery  pillar,  or 
clothed  itself  in  darkness  when  upon  the  cloud-capped  mount,  amidst 
the  flashing  of  lightning,  the  deep-toned  thunder  of  his  voice  shook  the 
earth  when  declaring  the  majesty  of  his  law,  so  that  surrounding  millions 
tremblingly  plead  that  they  might  hear  his  voice  no  more.  Yet  in  this 
terrific  scene  was  Moses  introduced,  and  for  forty  days  was  pavilioned 
upon  Sinai's  top  with  the  Omnipotent  Ruler  of  the  universe. 

View  that  young  prince,  the  royal  heir  of  Israel's  sweetest  psalmist. 
Deity,  in  a  vision  descending,  bids  him  utter  his  desire.  See  his  bosom 
heave.  Does  he  ask  for  wealth,  for  honor,  or  for  long  life  ?  Not  one  of 
them.  His  single  petition  is  for  wisdom,  and  what  does  Deity  respond  ? 
"Because  thou  has  asked  this  thing,  and  hast  not  asked  for  thyself  long 
life,  neither  hast  asked  riches  for  thyself,  nor  hast  asked  the  life  of  thy 
enemies,  but  hast  asked  for  thyself  understanding  to  discern  judgment 
behold  I  have  done  according  to  thy  word  ;  lo  !  I  have  given  a  wise  and 
understanding  heart,  so  that  there  was  none  like  thee,  before  thee,  neither 
after  thee  shall  any  arise  alike  unto  thee.  And  I  have  given  thee  also 
that  which  thou  hast  not  asked,  both  riches  and  honor ;  so  that  there 
32 


498  APPENDIX. 

shall  not  be  any  among  the  kings  like  unto  thee  all  thy  days."'  And  he 
who  penned  his  wise  sayings,  who  wrote  of  animals,  and  of  plants  from 
the  bysop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall  to  the  cedar  of  Lebanon,  he  only 
was  permitted  to  build  and  dedicate  a  temple  for  Jehovah.  And  while 
he  prayed  the  glory  of  the  eternal  descended,  and  He  whom  the  heaven 
of  heavens  cannot  contain  blessed  with  his  presence  that  sacred  edifice. 
When  Christ  was  about  to  appear  upon  earth,  the  joyful  intelligence 
was  first  given  to  the  wise  men  of  the  East,  and  they  first  brought  their 
offerings  of  myrrh  and  frankincense  and  gold,  to  lay  at  the  humble  shrine 
of  an  incarnate  Deity.  The  apostle  who  was  brought  up  at  the  feet  of 
Gamaliel,  and  taught  in  languages  and  sciences  above  his  colleagues,  was 
especially  made  the  honored  instrument  of  extending  God's  peculiar 
kingdom  among  the  Gentiles,  and  was  favored  with  such  ecstatic  visions 
and  enjoyed  such  rapturous  emotions  that  whether  he  "  was  in  the  body 
or  out  of  the  body,  he  could  not  tell." 

We  have  endeavored  to  consider  some  of  the  advantages  of  education, 
the  necessity  of  the  establishment  of  colleges,  and  the  influence  which 
they  exert  upon  the  political,  social,  and  moral  condition  of  the  world. 
And  however  hasty  and  imperfect  the  sketch  has  been,  we  are  very  con- 
fident that  the  reflecting  mind  cannot  dwell  upon  the  subject  without 
being  fully  satisfied  that  such  institutions  are  necessary  for  the  prosper- 
ity of  any  community.  Deeply  impressed  with  these  sentiments,  the 
patrons  of  this  institution  have  exerted  themselves  in  the  noble  enter- 
prise; and  now  the  Indiana  Asbury  University,  erected  wholly  by 
the  munificence  of  citizens  of  Indiana,  having  no  patronage  from  the 
government,  or  assistance  from  abroad,  opens  her  halls  for  the  admission 
of  students.  She  stands  wholly  an  Indiana  institution,  and  on  indepen- 
dent ground ;  and  desires  to  spread  broadly  her  banner,  inscribed  with 
••  Universal  and  thorough  Christian  education  essential  to  national  pros- 
perity/' Yet  she  assumes  no  attitude  of  rivalry.  As  a  new  state  enter- 
ing our  illustrious  union  detracts  nothing  from  the  glory  and  riches  of 
the  previous  confederates,  but  rather  increases  their  influence  and  power ; 
so  entering  as  a  new  member  into  the  literary  confederation,  she  will 
strive  to  promote,  by  all  honorable  means,  the  general  interest.  As  a  star 
hitherto  invisible,  when  it  suddenly  shines  brightly  in  the  heavens,  robs 
not  other  luminaries  of  their  glory,  but  only  augments  the  splendor  of 
the  sky ;  so,  while  endeavoring  to  radiate  truth  and  science,  she  will  re- 
joice in  the  brilliancy  of  sister  stars  in  the  effulgent  galaxy  of  literature. 
The  spirit  of  the  times  is  a  spirit  of  peace.  The  bitter  jealousies  and 
rancorous  enmities  that  have  subsisted  between  communities  are  changed 
into  treaties  of  friendship  and  alliance ;  and  nations  have  at  last  learned 
that  the  prosperity  of  one  contributes  to  the  prosperity  of  all — that  the 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.      499 

interest  of  each  is  intimately  connected  with  the  honor,  influence,  and 
improvement  of  others.  So  it  should  be  in  colleges ;  and  so  it  is  among 
men  of  comprehensive  intellects  and  liberal  views.  None  but  the  illib- 
eral and  bigoted — none  but  minds  scanty  by  nature  or  contracted  by 
prejudice— can  look  with  envy  upon  a  rising  institution,  or  attribute  to 
her  increase  the  diminution  of  others  that  have  any  well-founded  claims 
upon  public  patronage.  Nor  can  it  with  propriety  be  objected  that  we 
had  already  a  sufficient  number  of  colleges  in  Indiana.  The  bare  fact 
that  sufficient  interest  has  been  felt  to  erect  these  walls  is  evidence  that 
many  felt  the  need  of  another  institution.  And  the  more  we  examine 
this  subject,  we  shall  the  more  clearly  perceive  that  yet  there  is  no  super- 
abundance. 

The  states  of  Massachusetts  and  Vermont,  with  a  territory  scarcely  more 
than  a  fourth  of  ours,  each  supports  three  colleges.  Connecticut,  with  a 
little  more  than  an  eighth  of  our  extent,  also  supports  three,  together  with 
academies  and  seminaries  almost  without  number.  It  may,  however,  be 
said  that  that  state  is  much  more  densely  settled,  and  that  we  have  more 
institutions  in  proportion  to  our  population.  This  is  also  a  mistake.  Our 
population  is  nearly  double  that  of  Connecticut;  and  yet  she  has  at  least 
five  times  as  many  college  students.  This  is  in  a  great  degree  attributable 
to  the  fact  of  her  institutions  having  long  been  in  existence,  and  having 
created  a  spirit  of  enteiqmse  and  emulation  among  her  citizens.  Our 
state  is  becoming  more  densely  settled,  and  its  wealth  is  accumulating, 
and  parents  anxiously  desire  to  give  their  sons  a  thorough  education. 

The  only  question  is,  shall  this  be  done  at  home  or  abroad  ?  Every 
principle  of  political  economy,  every  feeling  of  attachment  and  consider- 
ation of  interest,  invite  to  educate  them  at  home.  Our  wealth  is  then 
retained  in  our  own  borders,  instead  of  flowing  into  other  states.  The 
personal  acquaintance  of  parents  with  professors  exerts  a  powerful  control 
over  the  conduct  of  students.  They  are  frequently  cheered  by  visits 
from  their  friends,  and  their  entire  education  is  more  immediately  under 
parental  supervision.  During  their  collegiate  term  they  are  formiug 
such  friendships  and  connections  as  will  be  of  essential  service  to  them, 
in  whatever  profession  they  may  engage  in  after-life.  Eastern  parents, 
who  intend  their  sons  to  reside  in  the  West,  fully  convinced  of  this  prin- 
ciple, are  beginning  to  send  their  sons  to  the  West  to  be  educated.  Here 
they  become  attached  to  our  customs,  and  identified  with  our  interests. 
They  are  not,  when  their  collegiate  course  is  completed,  to  be  placed  like 
polished  marble  pillars,  isolated  objects  of  attention,  and  perhaps  admira- 
tion; but  like  the  young  and  vigorous  tree,  deep  rooted  in  the  soil,  and 
intertwining  its  branches  with  those  of  a  kindred  growth,  they  mount 
upward,  enlarging  and  strengthening  with  their  age.     The  proper  time 


500  APPENDIX. 

to  found  literary  institutions  is  in  the  infancy  of  a  community.  Their 
influence  is  more  decidedly  felt  in  all  the  ramifications  of  society,  and 
although  they  sometimes  struggle  with  difficulties  incident  to  a  new 
country — though  for  a  time  they  lahor  almost  without  means,  yet  their 
prospect  of  permanence  is  much  greater  than  if  commenced  at  a  later 
period.  The  strongest  institutions  in  the  land  were  once  exceedingly 
feeble.  Yale  for  a  length  of  time  was  unable  to  support  a  regular  pres- 
ident, and  the  neighboring  ministers  alternately  officiated  in  its  supervis- 
ion. Yet  Yale  grew,  because  it  had  the  affections  of  the  people.  Its 
sons,  wherever  they  went,  inspired  attachment  to  its  interests,  its  funds 
gradually  accumulated,  and  it  rose  to  eminence  and  distinction.  Time 
is  always  requisite  to  prosperity  and  improvement.  The  order  of  Provi- 
dence was  a  gradual  creation,  though  His  Omnipotence  might  have 
founded  this  fair  fabric  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  And  the  same  order 
is  established  in  all  things  in  that  creation.  Every  institution  must 
gradually  increase.  And  when  the  friends  of  this  university  refer  to  its 
short  history  and  its  present  standing  —  when  they  contemplate  how 
deeply  it  is  seated  in  the  affections  of  the  people  in  all  parts  of  the  state 
— and  with  what  a  noble  liberality  they  have  determined  to  sustain  it, 
they  must  feel  satisfied  with  its  prosperity,  aud  adore  the  beneficence  of 
a  superintending  Providence,  who  hath  surrounded  its  commencement 
with  such  auspicious  circumstances.  A  more  rapid  increase  would  have 
been  as  the  unseasonable  germination  of  buds,  only  to  be  nipped  by  the 
recurring  frost — a  precocious  development  of  some  particular  portion,  at 
the  expense  of  the  symmetry  and  proportion  of  the  entire  system.  As  to 
the  course  to  be  pursued  in  the  institution  we  have  but  little  to  say. 
Our  plans  will  generally  be  similar  to  those  of  all  well-regulated  colleges. 
"Without  claiming  for  ourselves',  as  professors,  any  superior  talents,  or  as- 
suming motives  of  a  higher  order  than  actuate  others,  our  aim  shall  be 
to  labor  indefatigably,  and  to  promote  the  interests  of  education  in  the 
"West.  "Whatever  measure  conduces  to  this,  whether  it  has  the  sanction 
of  years,  or  the  freshness  of  youth,  we  wish  to  pursue.  "We  are  not  of 
those  who  wish  to  change  established  customs  merely  for  novelty,  nor 
yet  would  we  pertinaciously  cling  to  antiquated  forms,  as  the  Mussulman 
to  his  crescent,  merely  because  our  fathers  did  so  before  us.  Our  course 
of  study  is  designed  to  be  extensive  and  thorough  —  equal  to  that  of 
older  institutions;  for  the  literature  of  the  West  ought  to  be  equal  to 
that  of  any  other  laud.  Every  element  of  intellectual  greatness  is  here, 
independence  of  thought,  firmness  of  purpose,  frankness  of  expression, 
and  noble  daring  of  soul  are  the  characteristics  of  our  Western  popula- 
tion. And  when  to  these  qualities  shall  be  added  high  culture  of  intel- 
lect, there  is  no  ascent  so  steep,  no  eminence  so  lofty,  no  enterprise  so 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.     501 

laborious  as  to  damp  their  ardor  or  cause. them  to  shrink  from  the  under- 
taking. These  elements  of  character  are  the  same  which  shone  so  con- 
spicuously in  our  brave  sires,  whose  gigantic  intellects  planned  the 
colossal  fabric  of  our  Constitution — whose  hands  toiled  in  its  erection — 
whose  blood  cemented  its  parts,  and  calls  upon  us  to  preserve  uninjured 
its  massive  pillars  and  its  encircling  dome.  To  every  observer  it  must 
be  evident  that  all  eyes  are  turned  towards  the  West.  In  selecting  can- 
didates for  the  highest  offices  in  the  nation,  no  ticket  can  hope  for  suc- 
cess which  has  not  one  of  its  candidates  from  our  wide-spread  valley. 
In  our  national  councils,  the  voice  of  the  West  is  heard  with  delight ;  it 
may  not  have  the  elegance  of  the  East,  but  it  has  the  boldness  of  native 
sublimity.  The  Eastern  orator  may  resemble  in  his  intonations,  his  man- 
ners, his  thought,  the  lovely  birds  of  plumage,  whose  brilliant  colors  and 
charming  sounds  command  admiration.  The  Western  has  no  such  claims. 
Beauty  is  not  his  element.  He  may  be  unpolished  and  severe  as  the 
eagle,  but  like  him  he  mounts  with  undazzled  eye  and  tireless  wing, 
until  overpowered  vision  fails  to  follow  him  in  his  ethereal  flights.  The 
celebrated  Cousin,  in  his  History  of  Philosophy,  remarks,  "Give  me  the 
map  of  any  country,  its  configuration,  its  climate,  its  waters,  its  winds, 
and  the  whole  of  its  physical  geography ;  give  me  its  natural  productions, 
its  flora,  its  zoology,  etc.,  and  I  pledge  myself  to  tell  you,  a  priori,  what 
will  be  the  quality  of  man  in  that  country,  and  what  part  its  inhabitants 
will  act  in  history."  And  if  these  principles  be  true,  our  scenery,  surpass- 
ingly grand  and  magnificent,  must  produce  exalted  sentiments  and  emo- 
tions. To  preserve  this  character  in  its  greatness,  the  defects  alone  being 
removed,  should  be  the  object  of  the  faithful  preceptor. 

Nor  are  the  circumstances  of  our  young  men  unfavorable  to  intellectual 
improvement.  It  is  true  that  many  are  obliged  to  labor  for  their  own 
support  during  the  period  they  are  acquiring  knowledge,  while  had 
their  lots  been  cast  in  the  East,  their  expenses  might  have  been  defrayed 
by  the  sympathizing  directresses  of  religious  fairs.  Still  they  will  lose 
nothing.  They  may  be  longer  acquiring  a  thorough  education,  but  it 
will  be  more  valuable.  Instead  of  the  petty  cunning,  artful  intrigue, 
and  deep  dissimulation,  produced  by  such  servile  and  unnatural  depend- 
ence, there  will  be  the  proud  consciousness  of  a  greatness  which  was  not 
thrust  upon  them.  They  will  have  a  spirit  to  brook  difficulties— a  daunt- 
less energy  to  urge  them  perpetually  forward,  till  they  stand  upon  the 
pinnacle  of  the  temple  of  fame ;  while  their  supported  colleagues  will 
be  lingering  around  the  basement,  waiting  for  fair  hands  to  open  each 
bolted  door,  and  sweet  smiles  to  cheer  them  at  each  ascending  step.  But 
while  the  course  of  study  is  designed  to  be  extensive,  there  are  some 
whose  circumstances  will  not  permit  them  to  accomplish  it.     Some  wish 


502  APPENDIX. 

to  be  prepared  merely  for  business  pursuits;  others  to  engage  in  teach- 
ing elementary  schools;  and  such  desire  instruction  in  some  particular 
blanches.  To  all  such  our  classes  are  cheerfully  opened,  and  our  only 
requirement  is,  that  what  they  study,  they  should  study  thoroughly.  Yet 
we  arc  by  no  means  disposed  to  encourage  haste  to  engage  in  professional 
business ;  and  where  a  young  man's  circumstances  will  at  all  permit,  our 
earnest  advice  is  to  pursue  the  entire  course.  For  we  are  -well  satis- 
lied  that  young  men,  by  commencing  a  professional  course  too  early,  in- 
jure their  own  habits,  the  character  of  the  profession,  and  the  interests 
of  community. 

The  government  is  designed  to  be  firm  and  strict,  but  parental.  The 
student  will  be  treated  as  a  friend,  and  every  effort  used  to  make  him 
perceive  his  relations  and  feel  his  obligations.  But  if,  unfortunately,  his 
habits  should  be  vicious,  and  if  after  proper  admonition  they  cannot  be 
corrected,  lie  must  be  dismissed  from  the  institution.  To  such  an  indi- 
vidual education  can  be  of  no  service,  and  he  would  be  as  a  spreading 
plague  among  his  associates.  The  precepts  of  the  Bible  is  the  standard 
we  adopt  in  morals,  being  fully  convinced  that,  apart  from  the  influence 
of  the  Christian  religion,  no  truly  great  or  virtuous  character  can  be 
formed.  The  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  attendance  at  public  worshij) 
in  such  churches  as  may  be  selected  by  the  students  or  by  their  parents, 
together  with  such  other  religious  exercises  as  are  instituted  in  connec- 
tion with  the  college,  will  be  strictly  enjoined.  We  are  well  satisfied 
that  such  a  course  will  be  approved  by  the  enlightened  and  liberal  citi- 
zens of  our  state.  But  the  startling  cry  of  "  Sectarianism  "  may  perhaps 
by  others  be  echoed  throughout  the  land.  Nay,  we  expect  it,  because  it 
has  always  been  the  favorite  resort  of  infidelity.  Eighteen  hundred  years 
ago  Christianity  wras  the  sect  everywhere  spoken  against,  and  from  that 
period  to  this  "  Schism  and  Sectarianism  "  have  ever  been  the  cry  of  its 
relentless  opponents. 

If  by  sectarianism  be  meant  that  any  privilege  shall  be  extended  to 
youth  of  one  denomination  more  than  another — or  that  the  faculty  shall 
endeavor  to  proselyte  those  placed  under  their  instruction — or  dwell  upon 
the  minor  points  controverted  between  the  branches  of  the  great  Chris- 
tian family — then  there  is  not,  and  we  hope  there  never  will  be,  sectarian- 
ism here.  Indeed,  our  college  charter  secures  equal  privileges  to  all 
students,  without  reference  to  religious  peculiarities;  and  it  is  ever  to  be 
hoped  that  in  collegiate  instruction  only  the  grand  essentials  of  Chris- 
tianity will  be  taught.  But  if  by  sectarianism  be  meant  that  the  profess- 
ors are  religious  men,  and  that  they  have  settled  views  upon  Christian 
character  and  duty,  then  we  ever  hope  to  be  sectarian.  And  wdiat  insti- 
tution is  not  ?    Where  can  the  line  be  drawn  ?    If  it  be  sectarian  to  differ 


PRESIDENT  SIMPSON'S  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS.     503 

from  one  man's  religion,  then  it  is  equally  sectarian  to  differ  from  that  of 
another.  Where  shall  we  pause  ?  We  must  not  believe  in  a  future  state 
of  rewards  and  punishments,  for  that  is  sectarian.  We  must  not  teach 
that  the  Messiah  has  appeared,  or  the  Jew  cries  out  "  sectarian."  We 
must  not  claim  the  Bible  as  inspiration,  or  the  Deist  is  shocked  at  our 
illiberality.  We  must  not  deny  the  existence  of  pagan  gods,  or  Nero's 
torch  is  the  brilliant  argument  against  sectarianism.  Nay,  we  must  not 
admit  the  existence  of  a  God,  or  the  Atheist  will  rail  at  our  want  of  liberal 
feeling  and  sentiment.  What  then  shall  we  do  ?  Whether  professors  are 
Pagans  or  Atheists,  Mohammedans  or  Jews,  Deists  or  Christians,  still  they 
are  sectarian.  The  only  persons  who  are  properly  free  from  sectarianism 
are  those  who  either  believe  all  things,  or  who  believe  nothing. 

Our  own  course  is  fully  determined.  Education  without  morals  is  per- 
nicious, and  to  have  morals  without  religious  instruction  is  impossible. 
Taking  then  our  stand  upon  the  grand  and  broad  platform  of  evangelical 
truth,  passing  by  all  minor  and  non-essential  points,  we  shall  ever  strive 
to  cultivate  the  moral  as  well  as  the  mental  faculties  of  those  intrusted 
to  our  care. 

With  those  who  differ  from  us  we  have  no  dispute.  Freedom  of 
opinion  and  freedom  of  expression  are  the  grand  bulwarks  of  American 
liberty.  And  if  there  should  be,  even  in  our  own  country,  men  who  reject 
the  truths  of  revelation,  and  wish  their  sons  to  be  so  educated,  they  can 
doubtless  elsewhere  obtain  the  privilege.  Let  them  have  what  sentiments 
they  may,  if  they  even  deny  the  existence  of  a  creator— if  they  believe 
with  the  Athenians  that  they  spraug  from  grasshoppers— with  the  Egyp- 
tians that  they  grew  like  mushrooms  from  the  mud  of  the  Nile — or  with 
more  modern  infidels,  that  they  are  monkeys  slightly  modified — while 
they  sutler  us  to  pursue  our  own  course,  we  shall  never  dispute  with  them 
as  to  their  paternity. 

Permit  me  to  suggest  a  few  things,  and  I  have  done.  The  patrons  of 
the  university  have  acted  nobly  in  bringing  it  to  its  present  condition; 
and  for  what  they  have  done  doubtless  posterity  will  rise  up  and  call 
them  blessed.  But  still  something  more  is  necessary.  The  library  and 
philosophical  apparatus  require  large  additions,  to  render  the  character 
and  influence  of  the  institution  what  its  founders  have  ardently  desired. 
Other  professorships  should  also  be  endowed.  A  noble  example  was  set 
in  the  endowment  of  one  of  the  professorships  during  the  last  year,  and 
it  is  much  to  be  desired  that  those  whom  God  has  blessed  with  property 
should  imitate  such  disinterested  benevolence,  and  place  the  institution 
upon  a  lofty  eminence.  Such  persons  would  experience  during  life  an 
ample  reward  in  witnessing  the  beneficial  effects  produced,  and,  when 
their  voice  is  hushed  in  the  silence  of  the  grave,  "being  dead"  they 


504:  APPENDIX. 

would  "still  speak."  Nor  can  we  conceive  of  but  few  more  interesting 
scenes  than  the  return  of  the  disembodied  spirits,  after  the  lapse  of  ages, 
to  revisit  the  place  of  their  former  benefactions.  As  hovering  over  these 
classic  halls, they  should  witness  the  preparations  for  noble  action— and 
should  gaze  intensely  on  those  bright  intellects,  which  even  in  their  youth 
sparkle  with  celestial  tire,  and  ardently  burn  to  subdue  the  world  to 
Christ,  and  to  usher  in  the  millennial  glory — overwhelmed  with  the  resist- 
less rush  of  holy  feeling,  they  would  fly  back  to  the  palaces  of  bliss,  to 
join  in  still  more  enrapturing  anthems  of  praise  unto  Him  who  had  en- 
abled them,  while  on  earth,  to  perform  such  illustrious  deeds,  and  bear 
such  a  noble  part  in  advancing  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom. 


III. 

THE  CENTENARY  OF  AMERICAN  METHODISM  * 

When  I  survey  this  audience,  so  large  and  so  representative  in  its 
character,  the  question  forces  itself  upon  me,  Why  are  we  here?  Why 
have  these  men  and  women  left  their  homes ;  the  service  in  their  own 
particular  churches ;  why  have  these  men  of  business  laid  aside  the  cares 
and  the  anxieties  connected  with  their  pursuits  ;  and  why,  sir,  have  you, 
laying  aside  for  the  hour,  the  cares  connected  with  your  responsible  po- 
sition in  our  government,  met  here  to  enjoy  the  evening  hour  and  to 
confer  with  us?  It  may  be  very  briefly  said:  We  are  here  because  the 
first  hundred  years  of  Methodism  have  passed  away.  But  there  is  more 
than  this.  Why  should  such  an  event  bring  us  together  ?  What  is  there 
in  the  completion  of  this  period  to  call  for  such  an  assembly  ?  What  is 
there  in  it  to  stir  our  hearts  and  to  prepare  us  for  action  ?  I  assume  that 
all  who  are  here  present  feel  a  deep  interest  in  Methodism.  They  have 
witnessed  its  past  history,  they  understand  its  doctrines,  its  spirit,  and 
its  aims,  and  they  are  in  sympathy  with  its  high  purposes  and  its  vast 
objects.  And  is  it  not  wise,  taking  our  stand  at  the  passing  moment  of 
one  century  and  the  beginning  moment  of  another,  to  ask  on  the  one 
hand,  What  has  Methodism  done  ?  and  on  the  other,  What  can  it  do  ? 

The  time  will  not  allow  me  to  go  into  a  review  of  the  past;  the  history 
is  before  us.  Call  to  your  mind  a  little  gathering  a  hundred  years  ago 
of  six  poor,  obscure  persons,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  present  city,  meeting 
to  sing  and  pray,  little  thinking  that  so  great  a  Church  would  spring 
out  of  their  efforts.  Contrast  its  present  condition.  Look  at  our  com- 
modious churches,  our  large  congregations,  the  wealth,  the  influence,  the 
refinement,  the  great  enterprise,  and  we  see  that  a  mighty  work  has  been 
accomplished,  and  we  can  well  exclaim,  "What  hath  God  wrought!" 
And  now  is  it  proper  for  us  to  make  any  expression  of  our  feeling?  It 
is  certainly  proper  for  us  to  utter  thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God,  for  it 

*  Delivered  at  the  Centenary  meeting,  held  in  St.  Paul's  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  New  York,  January  25,  1SGC. 


506  APPENDIX. 

is  not  by  might  nor  by  power  that  the  work  has  been  accomjnished,  but 
by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  and  our  hearts  ought  to  ascend  in 
thanksgiving  to  him  because  of  what  he  did  for  our  fathers,  and  of  wdiat 
lie  lias  done  for  us.  I  think  that  no  heart  in  this  audience  can  feel  un- 
moved at  such  an  hour  as  this.  The  thoughts  of  the  past  crowd  upon 
us,  the  century  gone,  with  its  toils,  its  anxieties,  its  sorrows,  its  strifes,  its 
persecutions,  its  glorious  triumphs.  The  hundred  years  of  the  past ! 
Those  who  fought  and  those  who  fell.  Those  on  earth  and  those  in' 
heaven ;  for  while  I  gaze  upon  this  assembly  it  seems  to  me  as  if  in 
galleries  a  little  higher,  and  away  beyond  this  beautiful  roof,  there  comes 
before  me  another  congregation  of  glorified  millions  who  have  gone  up 
from  our  ranks,  and  who,  to-night,  are  joining  with  us  in  thanksgiving 
to  God  for  the  proclamation  of  that  gospel  which  saved  them  as  it  saves 
us.  But  while  we  utter  thanksgiving  and  our  hearts  swell  with  grati- 
tude, is  it  not  proper  to  give  some  expression  to  such  feeling  ?  Ought  we 
not  to  do  something  to  note  the  passing  of  time  ?  I  may  remark  that  I 
think  there  is  a  natural  feeling  in  the  human  breast  that  yearns  to  note  the 
time  of  great  events.  It  is  a  feeling  sanctified  of  God  in  the  human  heart. 
Thus  when  Jacob  had  the  vision,  wdien  as  a  youth  he  was  going  out 
and  God  gave  him  audience,  and  the  angels  came  down  from  heaven 
to  commune  with  him,  he  set  up  stones  to  mark  the  place.  It  was  to 
be  to  him  Bethel,  the  house  of  God,  to  mark  the  spot  where  God  had 
communed  with  him.  And  so  at  each  victory,  at  each  triumph,  at  each 
fresh  manifestation  of  the  power  of  God  in  the  history  of  the  old  Church, 
there  was  some  visible  mark  set  up.  If  the  Red  Sea  was  passed  over, 
there  was  not  only  the  shout  of  deliverance,  but  there  was  the  altar 
erected.  If  Jordan's  waves  were  divided,  and  the  host  passed  over  in 
triumph,  large  pillars  were  set  up.  If  the  devastating  angel  was  stayed 
in  his  course,  the  threshing-floor  was  purchased  and  an  altar  erected 
whereon  should  stand,  in  time,  the  temple  of  the  living  God.  The  feel- 
ing is  not  only  thus  marked  by  pious  hearts,  but  I  think  there  is  some- 
thing of  the  kind  to  be  found  everywhere.  Does  a  man  escape  ship- 
wreck ?  if  he  is  a  heathen,  he  hangs  up  a  votive  offering  in  the  temple 
of  the  gods;  if  one  is  delivered  from  some  terrihle  danger, he  desires  to 
make  some  outward  expression  of  his  gratitude.  We  notice  the  history 
of  the  churches.  How  often  has  the  Christian  Church  marked  a  great 
epoch  by  some  great  work  !  And  not  only  churches,  but  nations.  The 
people  of  Holland  established  the  University  of  Leyden  to  commemorate 
their  remarkable  deliverance.  Now,  is  it  not  proper  for  us  to  follow 
such  precedents  ?  May  we  not  even  add  that  God  himself  has  sanctioned 
it  :  lie  has  given  expression  of  the  material  along  with  the  immaterial : 
while  he  creates  spirit,  he  creates  matter.     When  he  sent  us  into  the 


THE  CENTENARY  OF  AMERICAN  METHODISM.     507 

world  to  have  pure  thoughts  and  aflfectious,  he  made  the  glorious  outer 
world  to  mark  the  expression  of  his  loving-kindness.  When  the  old 
world  was  destroyed,  he  gave  a  promise  that  it  should  be  destroyed  no 
more;  and  it  was  not  merely  his  promise  he  gave  us,  but,  that  we  might 
have  an  outward  symbol,  he  hung  the  bow  in  the  clouds  to  be  a  sign  of 
his  goodness — a  monument,  as  it  were,  of  his  saving  mercy.  When  he 
Jed  the  people  of  Israel  he  sent  the  cloud,  the  pillar  of  fire,  to  show  his 
presence.  So,  when  he  came  on  Mt.  Sinai,  he  caused  darkness  and  the 
flashing  of  lightning  to  attest  his  coming.  Though  he  gave  his  law  as 
a  guide,  he  gave  the  tables  of  stone  on  which  that  law  was  written.  So 
that  God  has  sanctioned  external  expressions  of  his  spiritual  kindness 
and  love,  and  the  Church  of  to-day  is  but  following  the  precedents  that 
God  and  the  ancient  Church  have  set.  When,  at  a  point  of  its  history, 
it  sets  up  an  altar,  it  marks  the  spot,  it  raises  its  Ebenezer,  and  says, 
"  Hitherto  the  Lord  hath  helped  me  ?"  And  in  proportion  to  the  great- 
ness of  the  help  that  God  has  given  ought  to  be  the  greatness  of  the 
expression;  in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the  blessings  bestowed 
ought  to  be  the  expression  of  gratitude,  not  by  our  lijis,  not  by  our  sing- 
ing, not  by  our  prayers,  but  by  something  which  shall  live  in  the  minds 
of  the  world,  something  that  men  shall  behold  and  our  children  shall 
see,  and  which  shall  lead  them  to  say,  "Because  God  led  our  fathers 
thus  and  gave  them  a  great  inheritance,  they  have  set  up  these  altars  to 
his  name  ?" 

The  question  then  comes  up:  If  we  make  an  expression,  what  shall 
be  its  character?  Now,  there  are  many  local  interests  which  may  well 
call  out  our  offerings  of  gratitude  in  various  localities  of  the  Church. 
There  are  churches  that  may  be  erected;  there  are  academies  which  may 
be  builded;  there  are  colleges  which  may  be  endowed;  there  is  help 
which  may  be  extended  to  Germany  across  the  ocean,  or  to  old  Ireland, 
from  whom  we  have  received  so  many  blessings.  All  these  are  specific 
objects  which  we  may  aid.  As  I  listened  to  the  very  beautiful  and  elo- 
quent plea  in  behalf  of  Ireland  and  Germany,  my  own  heart  was  touched, 
and  I  thought  if  a  New-Englander  can  sympathize  so  fully  with  those 
countries,  what  may  some  of  us  feel  ?  As  the  bishop  was  speaking,  I 
was  reminded  of  what  I  was  told,  when  in  Ireland,  of  an  Englishman 
who  visited  that  country,  and  who  was  so  charmed  with  the  Lakes  of 
Killarney  that  he  declared  if  he  ever  was  going  to  be  born  again,  he 
would  be  sure  to  be  born  in  old  Ireland.  But  besides  these  local  inter- 
ests, to  which  we  do  well  to  take  heed,  it  seems  to  me  the  great  expres- 
sion of  our  gratitude  ought  to  be  something  which  shall  bind  us  together 
as  a  people,  something  that  shall  cement  us  as  one  body,  and  that  can  be 
felt  to  be  an  expression  of  our  gratitude  reaching  all  parts  of  our  Church. 


508  APPENDIX. 

Now  as  I  look  at  Methodism,  I  recognize  this  fact:  from  its  birth 
and  through  its  history  of  one  hundred  years,  it  has  been  struggling 
more  and  more  for  connectional  sympathy  and  for  counectional  power. 
The  first  indication  of  this  is  in  the  pastorate.  Unlike  many  other 
churches,  we  take  the  whole  sweep  of  the  church  in  our  pastorate.  I 
am  not  a  pastor  of  this  church,  nor  is  my  brother  who  occupies  the  pul- 
pit here  regularly.  He  is  not  the  pastor  of  this  church  simply,  but  he 
is  one  of  the  jwstors  of  Methodism.  St.  Paul's  Church  stands  not  alone 
as  a  congregation,  but  as  one  of  the  churches  of  Methodism,  and  hence 
the  great  connectional  bond.  We  have  one  ministry,  one  pastorate, 
which  circulates  through  the  whole  Church,  thus  binding  us  together. 
This  is  the  first  great  idea,  the  first  bond  which  distinguishes  Methodism 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  You  terni  it  an  itinerant  ministry;  but  after 
all  it  is  only  this,  giving  to  the  whole  Church  the  talents  of  all  the  min- 
isters whom  God  has  called  to  operate  within  the  Church.  But  there 
follow  other  agencies,  and  those  agencies  have  been  from  the  first  assimi- 
lating themselves  to  this  great  connectional  thought.  For  instance,  we 
take  up  our  literature.  Other  churches  haVe  their  literature,  but  to  none 
occurred  the  idea  of  having  one  church  literature  that  should  spread 
throughout  the  bouuds  of  the  whole  country.  Though  we  began  so 
feebly  with  but  a  single  book  or  two,  and  a  little  establishment,  first  in 
Philadelphia,  then  in  New  York,  struggling  for  years,  yet  the  great  idea 
was  before  the  mind  of  the  Church,  the  feeling  that  we  ought  to  give 
to  our  people  such  reading  as  would  develop  their  intellects  and  culti- 
vate their  moral  feelings.  The  Church  thus,  as  a  Church,  undertook 
to  spread  a  religious  literature  among  her  people. 

What  lias  she  done?  Other  churches  have  followed  her  example; 
other  churches  are  now  treading  in  the  same  path,  but  Methodism  in 
this  field  is  still  pre-eminent.  Hence  have  sprung  up  our  periodicals 
and  Book  Concerns,  through  which  our  authors  circulate  their  produc- 
tions. Look  at  the  power  given  to  the  few  by  the  press.  One  million 
of  members  are  interested  in  everything  that  is  written  by  some  master- 
minds; so  that  great  thoughts  reach  not  only  one.  two,  or  three  thou- 
sand persons,  but  by  means  of  the  press  a  burning  thought,  which  God 
lias  let  down  from  some  upper  sphere,  tells  upou  the  hearts  and  con- 
sciences of  multiplied  thousands.  The  next  step  was,  in  addition  to 
educating  the  children,  to  bind  them  to  the  Church.  There  is  the  Sun- 
day-School Union,  and  I  love  it  for  its  benevolent  work,  but  the  idea  of 
making  the  Sunday-school  a  part  of  the  Church  is  a  Methodistic  idea, 
not  that  of  separate  agencies,  going  outside  of  our  work,  but  from  the 
first  making  the  Sunday-school  part  of  the  Church,  for  which  also  a  lit- 
erature is  prepared.     The  children  of  the  Church  are  educated  as  a 


THE  CENTENARY  OF  AMERICAN  METHODISM.      509 

Church  We  now  gather  in  our  folds  not  only  nearly  a  million  of  rnem- 
be'but  a  full  million  of  Sunday-school  scholars.  It  is  the  connectional 
idea  still  that  pervades  the  whole.  . 

The     again  there  is  the  Missionary  Society.     We  bring  our  offerings 
not  to  'establish  a  mission  here  or  a  mission  there,  nor  for  one  church 
oh    ome  the  patron  of  one  particular  mission-field,  but  we  loo,  on 
and  grasp  the  world  in  our  thoughts.    And  here  at  the  close  of  tins  first 
century    vhat  have  we  accomplished?    We  have  a  Conference  m  Ge - 
m  ny,  of  which  you  heard,  a  Conference  organized  in  India,  and  schoo 
,nd  missionaries  in  China.     We  have  swept  over  the  wilderness  of  the 
westTnd  have  planted  our  Conferences  up  among  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
God  has  given'us  a  Conference  in  Africa,  a  Conference  m  A,a  a  Com 
forence  in  Europe,  and  multiplied  Conferences  ,n  Amenca.     The  wo Id 
is  our  parish.     This  is  the  idea  of  Methodism,  whose  expansive heart  > 
not  satisfied  until  it  lavs  its  arms  around  the  teeming  nulbon.  of  earth  s 
population,  and,  so  far  as  it  may,  draws  them  to  the  cross  of  Chn 
This  is  the  great  connectional  idea  of  Methodism,  winch  gives    t  such 
Lmense  power.     The  same  thought  that  binds  us  thus  together    as  led 
us  to  organize  in  the  last  few  years  a  Church  Extension  Society ,  so  that 
we  shall  be  able  to  aid  in  the  erection  of  edifices  in  the  We  tern  t  ra- 
tei s, n  poor  sections  of  the  country,  in  the  suburbs  of  cities,  and  in 
whatever  lands  are  open  before  us,  so  that  by  a  little  systematm  contn- 
bution  to  this  and  that  church,  by  applying  the  means  properly,  we  may 
stimulate  the  erection  of  churches  in  all  parts  of  the  land      For    he 
churches  are  all  one ;  they  are  houses  of  Methodism ;  they  belong   9  the 
great  field  we  are  cultivating.    Thus  has  the  connectional  >d»Pen£«i 
S  the  movements  of  Methodism.     But  there  remains  one  field  not  so 
fully  connectionalized,  and  that  is  the  field  of  education     We  have  our 
schools,  colleges,  universities,  and  theological  seminaries;  they  are  placed 
here  and  theVas  the  Church  saw  fit  to  erect  them;  yet  we  havejU 
mourned  over  this  fact,thatwe  have  failed  to  accomplish  what  j*  e  ought 
have  accomplished  in  the  education  of  our  children.     First,  because 
of  apathy  on  the  part  of  the  general  Church  ;  secondly,  because  neigh- 
borhoods that  needed  these  schools  were  not  able  to  found    hem  at  the 
proper  time,  and  there  were  none  to  give  them  aid;    thirdly    because 
ills  were  established  in  wrong  places,and  founded  *™*f*™ 
Hence  much  of  our  labor  has  run  to  waste,  and  we  have  not  accom- 
plished what  we  ought.     The  question  then  sugges ts  itself  C n  ^c 
connection^  our  educational  work  ?    Can  we  at  the  close  of  the  flirt 
century  of  Methodism  do  something  by  which  we  may  con tro    to  such 
an  extent  our  educational  interests  as  to  bring  them  close  to  the  heart 
of  the  Church? 


510  APPENDIX. 

Now  I  need  not  before  tills  audience  attempt  to  prove  the  value  of 
education.  We  feel  it.  This  audience  recognizes  it.  You  educate  your 
children,  for  you  know  that  education  is  a  power  in  the  world.  The 
educated  men,  say  what  we  may,  will  govern  the  world,  and  it  is  simply 
optional  with  us  whether  our  children  shall  be  among  the  governors,  or 
whether  they  shall  be  among  the  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water. 
God  has  given  to  developed  mind  this  power,  and  this  power  will  rule 
the  world.  I  think  we  all  feel  the  necessity  of  educating  the  children 
whom  God  has  given  us,  and  we  are  a  large  family.  When  I  look  at  the 
number  of  children  to  be  educated  it  sometimes  almost  makes  my  heart 
tremble.  I  occasionally  see  some  rich  old  bachelor  who  has  no  family 
talking  about  educating  the  children  of  the  laud,  but  it  gives  him  very 
little  trouble  and  very  little  thought ;  but  I  see  some  man  who  has  a 
family  of  half  a  dozen  or  a  dozen  children  growing  around  him,  with 
limited  means,  and  his  inquiry  is,  "How  cau  I  educate  them?  how  shall 
these  sons  be  prepared  to  be  master-minds?  how  shall  these  daughters 
be  so  cultured  and  refined  that  they  shall  bloom  in  the  garden  of  so- 
ciety ?''  This  is  a  problem  which  occupies  the  thoughts  and  exercises  the 
hearts  of  many  of  the  fathers  and  mothers  possibly  in  this  assembly. 

The  Methodist  Church  occupies  this  position :  God  has  given  it  a  great 
many  minds  to  cultivate,  a  large  family  of  children,  counted  by  hun- 
dreds of  thousands,  swelling  up  towards  a  million;  and  the  question  is, 
"  How  is  it  to  educate  them?  Where  are  its  means?  You,  sir,  spoke 
of  our  means  being  part  of  the  nation.  I  rejoice  that  God  has  given  us 
some  means ;  and  yet  sometimes  (if  I  would  not  descend  from  the  dig- 
nity of  my  theme)  I  am  reminded  that  in  some  places  we  are  a  little  like 
the  poor  beggar  who  came  to  plead  with  a  rich  old  miser  for  bread  for 
his  father.  Said  the  man,  "  Wherever  God  sends  mouths  he  sends 
bread?"  "Yes,"  said  the  little  boy,  "but  he  sent  you  all  the  bread  and 
sent  us  all  the  mouths?"  It  sometimes  seems  to  me  that  our  work  is  so 
vast  and  overflowing  in  proportion  to  our  means,  I  scarcely  know  how 
we  shall  accomplish  it.  The  work  being  so  vast,  it  requires  extraordi- 
nary exertion,  and  the  whole  Church  needs  to  rally  around  it. 

It  is  therefore  proposed, as  an  expression  of  our  gratitude  to  God,  that 
we  shall  throw  our  contributions  into  one  fund,  to  be  wisely  vested  in 
trustees,  appointed  by  the  General  Conference,  men  in  whom  the  Church 
can  confide,  partly  laymen  and  partly  ministers,  wdio  shall  hold  this 
fund  and  distribute  its  interest  from  year  to  year  for  the  purpose  of  help- 
ing education.  The  principle  is  precisely  the  same  as  in  the  endowment 
of  a  college,  an  academy,  or  a  theological  school,  with  this  single  excep- 
tion :  this  fund  is  not  for  any  one  school,  nor  for  any  one  section,  but  to 
be  distributed  by  the  Church  where  it  can  accomplish  the  greatest  amount 


TUE  CENTENARY  OF  AMERICAN  METHODISM.      511 

of  good  in  promoting  its  educational  interests.  This  is  the  character  of 
the  scheme.  Now  I  ask  you  to  look  at  it  for  a  moment.  If  you  give  to 
a  single  institution,  which  I  hope  you  will  do  as  largely  as  your  local 
sympathy  may  prompt  you,  yet  the  fact  must  be  remembered  that  that 
institution  has  but  a  local  sphere. 

Look  at  our  swelling  country;  you  have  heard  of  the  coming  millions 
of  population.  If  the  old  statesman  stood  at  the  summit  of  the  Alle- 
ghany Mountains  listening  for  the  coming  millions,  we  stand  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  or  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  on  the  Sierra  Nevadas, 
listening  for  the  footsteps  of  the  coming  tens  of  millions.  And  what 
will  institutions  located  here  or  there  do  for  the  vast  multitudes  that  will 
come  hereafter  ?  Our  country  is  extending,  and  is  destined  to  extend. 
God  has  given  us  a  government  capable  of  expansion,  and  it  will  ex- 
pand. We  ought  to  be  in  a  position  where  we  can  follow  the  people, 
and  do  something,  wherever  they  go,  to  aid  them  in  founding  their  in- 
stitutions of  learning. 

Again,  there  is  this  other  thought :  If  you  give  to  a  single  institution, 
valuable  as  the  contribution  is,  your  donation  carries  out  its  own  work 
alone.  It  is  valuable,  and,  being  dead,  you  will  yet  speak  ;  but  suppose 
you  leave  a  fund  under  the  administration  of  wise  men,  who  say,  "  If  you 
will  raise  five  thousand  dollars,  we  will  give  you  one  thousand  for  this 
year;  if  you  endow  a  chair  in  three  years,  we  will  support  the  professor 
until  it  is  endowed,  and  give  you  his  labors— what  a  stimulus  you  would 
furnish  !  And  such  a  fund  judiciously  used  might  bring  to  the  Church 
tenfold  more  than  all  the  money  you  give.  The  aid  you  extend  would 
be  powerfully  multiplied.  I  will  give  you  an  instance.  I  received  a 
letter  a  few  days  since,  pleading  for  three  hundred  dollars,  telling  me 
of  a  certain  place  where  there  is  a  church  property  worth  seven  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  can  be  bought  to-day  for  three  hundred  dollars.  I 
hope  the  Church  will  be  secured.  This  is  an  instance  where  a  little  given 
may  accomplish  much.  Benevolent  men  will  combine  where  there  is  a 
nucleus.  You  give  aid  to  an  institution,  and  men  who  love  education 
will  rally  round  it ;  and  this  fund,  thus  used,  may  gather  about  it  a  hun- 
dredfold more  in  time  to  come.  Then,  again,  I  advocate  such  a  fund 
because  it  is  not  subject  to  the  difficulties  resulting  from  the  manage- 
ment of  other  funds.  You  endow  a  professorship,  and  a  man  may  occupy 
the  chair  who  is  unworthy,  and  the  local  institution  is  unwilling  to  re- 
move him.  Sometimes  the  chairs  become  almost  sinecures,  and  are  al- 
most useless  for  the  cause  of  education ;  but  if  the  income  be  annually 
given  by  the  Church  just  where  the  greatest  amount  of  good  may  be 
accomplished,  there  will  be  no  sinecures,  for  the  donation  is  bestowed 
as  a  premium,  and  as  an  aid  to  individual  effort.  The  same  money  may 
help  a  school  in  Maine  this  year,  and  next  year  a  school  in  Oregon.     It 


512  APPENDIX. 

may  to-day  help  a  school  in  Michigan,  and  next  year  one  in  Mississippi. 
When  our  great  Church  in  all  its  branches  shall  hereafter  become  united 
again,  and  Methodism  shall  be  one  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  the  fund 
■which  you  create  will  exercise  its  influence  in  aiding  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, and  in  developing  the  cause  of  education.  It  is  in  behalf  of  this 
fund  I  plead  with  you  to-night.  I  ask  you  to  take  it  to  your  minds, 
consider  it,  and  ask  what  you  can  do.  And,  while  I  ask  you  not  to  give 
the  less  to  the  institutions  we  now  have,  I  ask  you  to  give  something 
that  shall  be  a  memento  to  our  sons,  and  which  the  public  shall  recog- 
nize as  a  fund  for  the  cause  of  general  Christian  education. 

Would  it  not  be  glorious  to  take  this  position  ?  If  there  is  a  single 
point  on  which  the  public  regard  us  unfavorably,  it  is  in  the  matter  of 
education.  They  acknowledge  our  piety  ;  they  know  our  numbers ;  they 
admit  our  energy  and  enterprise ;  but  they  have  not  given  us  credit  for 
being  deeply  interested  in  education.  Tliey  do  not  look  upon  us,  I  think, 
as  favorably  as  they  ought.  But  if,  at  this  time,  standing  at  this  point 
of  our  history,  we  put  forth  our  energies  in  behalf  of  Christian  education, 
the  world  will  recognize  the  fact  that  Methodism,  spiritual  religion, 
that  religion  which  touches  the  hearts,  the  affections,  and  the  emotions, 
does  not  pass  by  the  intellect,  but,  calling  fire  from  heaven,  kindles  in 
the  intellect  the  highest  thoughts,  and  exalts  its  power.  I  look  into  the 
Methodism  of  the  future  and  I  recognize  all  this.  I  see  a  people  vast  in 
number— a  people  whose  hearts  swell  with  gratitude  to  God — a  people 
with  intellects  educated,  with  tastes  refined,  artistic,  lovely,  energetic,  and 
expressive— going  forth  preaching  the  Gospel  in  all  languages,  and  con- 
quering the  world  unto  God. 

This  is  a  cause  which,  more  than  any,  should  engross  the  hearts,  the 
affections,  and  the  feelings  of  Methodists.  It  is  not  merely  the  general 
cause  of  education,  which  I  love  in  all  its  bearings,  but  especially  the 
training-up  of  strong,  fervid,  polished,  and  powerful  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  who  shall  go  like  bright  and  burning  lights  all  over  this  country 
of  ours.  The  need  of  Methodism  now,  at  the  close  of  the  first  century,  is 
not  less  fire,  but  more  learning.  We  want  rhetoric,  but  we  want  it  set  on 
fire  of  God.  We  want  a  learning  polished  and  yet  sanctified,  whereby 
we  may  educate  the  people  and,  at  the  same  time,  lead  them  upward  to 
God.  God  grant  that  we  may  now  do  something  worthy  of  Methodism ! 
And  when  the  year  1866  shall  be  remembered,  among  the  years  of  the 
past,  may  the  pen  of  the  future  historian  record  that  among  its  most 
notable  events  was  this:  That  Methodism  gave  its  grandest  efforts  for 
the  education,  not  of  men  and  women  of  a  particular  locality,  not  for  par- 
tial ends,  or  for  personal  aggrandizement,  but  for  educating  the  minds  of 
the  masses  all  over  the  world. 

THE    END. 


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